

This forces black to capture 1…Rxd7, and now it is white’s move rather than black’s. Black gets to move freely immediately after, taking the file with 1…Rd8! (and winning the endgame, an exercise for the reader).

Normally this will give a slight advantage in this position it will determine the outcome of the game.Ī common mistake by less experienced players is to play 1. How white makes the rook trade will result in the gain or loss of a single tempo. In this position, both white and black have rooks facing each other on the d-file. How they end up being traded can distinguish an experienced player from a new player. Rook tradeĪ basic example is also a very common one: a situation where both sides have rooks on the same open file.
#SENTE GOTE HOW TO#
Take them as a demonstration of (a) how to use these terms in a discussion, and (b) how to think about the initiative. The following examples show a variety of situations in which I would naturally use the terms sente and gote in describing the moves. I find myself reaching for these terms quite often when analysing or annotating games, as they succinctly and precisely describe a common concept. In general sente is associated with dictating the flow of play, and gote is associated with not dictating the flow. A semi-literal translation that I feel captures the essence of the above is the following: sente = leading hand, and gote = following hand. You might already sense that these terms more precisely describe what it means to “have the initiative” in various contexts.
