Rook in front of the passed pawn

We know from the previous lesson that we prefer to have the rook behind the passed pawn. However, there are situations in which the rook in front of the pawn can be successful. We ended the previous lesson with an example in which the passed pawn was one square away from promotion. There the defender was then able to keep a draw, but in this lesson we will see that there are also ways to do benefit from situations where the rook is in front of its own passed pawn.

In Example 1, white removes the rook in front of the pawn with check.

In Example 2, White removes the rook in front of the pawn and introduces a checkmate threat in the process.

In Example 3, white removes the rook in front of the pawn and thereby brings a trick into the position. If white captures the pawn, white has a skewer check.

In Example 4, we see that the lesson about simplification comes in handy. White removes the rook in front of the pawn, forcing the opponent to exchange rooks a move later. After that exchange, white reaches a winning pawn endgame.

What do you have to do?

Remove the rook in front of the pawn in such a way that you win material or obtain a winning endgame. In some situations you need a preparatory move first.