Rank

A rank is one of the eight horizontal rows of squares running across the chessboard, numbered 1 to 8 from White’s side.

Category
Rules
Also in
Tactics, Notation
Difficulty
Beginner
Also known as
row

Rank is one of the eight horizontal rows of squares that run across the chessboard. They are numbered 1 through 8, always counting upward from White’s side of the board, so that rank 1 holds White’s starting pieces and rank 8 holds Black’s.

In algebraic notation a rank appears as the number that follows the file letter. The square e4, for example, lies on the fourth rank. When players speak of “the seventh rank,” they mean the row numbered 7, which is frequently invaded by a rook or queen because it attacks the opponent’s pawns from behind.

Rooks and queens gain great power when they control an entire open rank; the ability to swing from one side of the board to the other along a single rank is a basic attacking motif. The back rank (rank 1 for White, rank 8 for Black) must be watched carefully, since a piece that controls it can deliver checkmate if the king has no escape square on that row.

Frequently asked questions

What is a rank in chess?
A rank is one of the eight horizontal rows of squares on the chessboard, numbered 1 through 8 from White's side.
How are ranks numbered and used in notation?
Ranks are always counted upward from White's starting side, so rank 1 holds White's pieces and rank 8 holds Black's. In algebraic notation the rank appears as the number after the file letter, as in the square e4.
Why is the seventh rank important?
Rooks and queens often invade the seventh rank to attack the opponent's pawns from behind.
What is the back rank and why guard it?
The back rank is rank 1 for White and rank 8 for Black. A piece that controls it can deliver checkmate if the king has no escape squares on that row.

See also

  • Absolute Seventh — An absolute seventh is a rook on the seventh rank that cannot be attacked or driven away by enemy pawns, thereby securing permanent control of that rank.
  • Back Rank — The back rank is the first rank for White or eighth for Black, where each king starts and often remains after castling, leaving it vulnerable to mate when its own pieces block all escape squares.
  • Back-Rank Mate — A back-rank mate is a checkmate in which a king trapped on its back rank by its own unmoved pawns or pieces is attacked along that rank by an enemy rook or queen.

Referenced by

  • Arabian Mate — The Arabian mate is a checkmate pattern in which a knight and rook combine to trap the enemy king in a corner, with the knight delivering check from a safe square while the rook protects it and seals the adjacent rank or file.
  • Battery Play — A battery consists of two or more same-color pieces aligned on a rank, file, or diagonal so the rear piece supports or attacks through the forward piece once it moves or captures.
  • Corridor Mate — A corridor mate is a checkmate in which a rook or queen attacks the king along an open file or rank while the king’s own pieces or the board edge block escape on the adjacent lines, forming a narrow corridor.
  • Cross Pin — A cross pin is a tactic in which one piece pins two enemy units along intersecting lines, so that either may be captured if it moves.
  • Desperado — A desperado is a doomed piece that captures the highest-value enemy unit reachable before it is taken.
  • En Passant — A special pawn capture allowing a pawn to take an enemy pawn that has just advanced two squares, as if it had moved only one square.
  • Opposition — Opposition occurs when two kings face each other on the same rank or file with one square between them, so that the player whose turn it is to move must give way and allow the opponent’s king to advance.
  • Outpost — An outpost is a square, typically advanced in the opponent's half of the board, that cannot be attacked by an enemy pawn and is therefore a secure base for a piece, usually a knight, often protected by one of your own pawns.
  • Pigs On The 7Th — Two rooks doubled on the opponent’s seventh rank, known as pigs on the seventh, create a powerful attacking formation that typically sweeps up pawns and generates decisive threats against the enemy king.
  • Skewer — A skewer is a tactic in which an attacker forces a more valuable enemy piece to move along a shared rank, file, or diagonal, thereby exposing a less valuable piece behind it to capture.
  • X-Ray Attack — An X-ray attack occurs when a piece attacks through an opposing piece to threaten a more valuable target behind it on the same rank, file or diagonal.

Written by Chesswick.

Reviewed by Maria Russell.

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About the reviewer

Maria Russell

Maria didn't grow up dreaming of chess. She grew up dreaming of getting through bedtime without a meltdown, and chess just happened to be the thing that worked.

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