- This Week in Rookly
- Posts
- Rookly Fall 2025 Season - Week #7 Results!
Rookly Fall 2025 Season - Week #7 Results!
Our Thanksgiving schedule, plus your weekly recap of league standings, the Game and Move of the Week, and a visit to the Coaches' Corner.
Lucas Thompson
November 24, 2025
Thanksgiving Schedule
Just a reminder that there will be no leagues running this week!
In the spirit of the holiday, we’d like to express our sincere gratitude to all of our schools, students, and faculty sponsors that make Rookly possible. Thank you for all of your support, and here’s to a nice break before the last few weeks of the Fall league!
We hope you get to enjoy some well-earned time off and we’ll see everyone the week of December 3rd.
Let’s look at last week’s scores. You can click on the title of a league to view the full standings for that league. The standings pages are public, so please feel free to share with parents, friends, or whoever you think might be interested!
Week #7 Standings
(4:00pm ET) | (3:30pm PT) |
|---|---|
Cardinal Kung - 145 | WIISER - 182 |
Newman - 119 | Temecula Prep - 146 |
Drew Charter - 101 | Lakeside School - 105 |
Pennfield - 91 | Moreland - 100 |
Hannah Senesh - 90 | Alta Vista - 100 |
(3:30pm ET) | (4:00pm PT) |
|---|---|
Pace Academy - 150 | Stanford Online - 146 |
Ransom Everglades - 145 | Holy Ghost Prep - 96 |
Grayson - 131 | Temecula Prep - 88 |
The Journey School - 117 | St. Joseph’s Notre Dame - 65 |
Lake Center Christian - 114 | St. Mary’s/Archer - 64 |
(5:00pm ET) | (3:00pm ET) |
|---|---|
St. George’s - 127 | Opportunities For Learning - 163 |
Montgomery Academy - 121 | St. John Paul II - 124 |
Rogers - 100 | Hendersonville - 108 |
Lake Wales Charter - 61 | Nativity Prep - 94 |
Manatee School for the Arts - 46 | Marvin Academy - 57 |
(3:30pm ET) | (4:30pm ET) |
|---|---|
Calvary Day - 136 | Eureka Springs - 122 |
Camden Military Academy - 101 | Trinity Episcopal - 120 |
Overhills - 92 | Leffell - 103 |
Nativity New Bedford - 83 | Lakeside - 103 |
Discovery Academy - 76 | Austin Jewish Academy - 101 |
Game of the Week
The game of the week this week goes to Vivaan S (WIISER) and Jasper Z (Lakeside School) for a truly excellent game that was showed near perfect attack from Vivaan, and after an early mistake, some admirable defensive play from Jasper—a wonderfully instructive game from both players!
Check it out the full game below:
Move of the Week
Our move of the week goes to Olivia HG (Archer) for this beautiful smothered mate! The white king’s movement is completely restricted by its own pieces, and Olivia was able to swoop in with the knight on f3 for a spectacular finish.
Bonus points for the great use of the pin on white’s e2 bishop with the black queen. Well done Olivia!
Smothered mate!
Coaches’ Corner
Last week we looked at why in a king and pawn vs king end game, promotion of a rook pawn is impossible if the defending player plays correctly.
Before we look at how to promote knight, bishop, and central pawns, we need to understand a concept called opposition.
What is opposition?
Black takes opposition.
Opposition is when the kings are arranged like above: with one square between them, and the kings on the same rank or file. Since black was the last to move, we can say that black has taken opposition.
Why is this important?
Taking opposition prevents the opponent’s king from making forward progress. Let’s see how to use this concept as the defending player to prevent the opponent from promoting a pawn.
The starting position, and a choice for white
Let’s go from this position, with the kings and a white pawn on their home squares:
Starting position.
It’s important to understand that in an endgame position where one side needs to promote a pawn, it’s the king who needs to lead the charge.
White has two options here: move the king, or move the pawn. If white moves the pawn, this game is already in a drawn position.
Drawn position.
How to defend using opposition
Black now needs to attack the pawn without delay:
The black king approaches the white pawn.
And now how to make progress as white? Notice that with the last move, black has taken opposition.
What to do now as white?
The white king now only really has two moves, since any of the other three don’t defend the pawn:
White’s available moves.
In either case, black can simply retreat along the same file as the pawn.
Black retreats.
When white tries to advance…
White tries to advance.
Black takes opposition, preventing the white king from getting in front of the pawn.
Black takes opposition.
If white tries to advance the pawn with check…
Pawn advances with check.
Then black simply needs to get back on the e-file, staying adjacent to the white pawn. The white king is forced to defend.
Black forces white to defend.
And we are back in a familiar position, only one square farther down the board. Note that white has taken opposition, so the black king is forced to move backwards (and should do so along the same file!)
White takes opposition and black retreats.
The cycle continues, and now black is out of room to retreat any further:
At the edge of the board now.
Now when white tries to make progress…
White plays e7.
Black can force a draw with Ke8.
Black has forced a draw.
Now white is out of options, because Ke6 is stalemate immediately:
Stalemate!
And any other king move fails to defend the pawn, just like before, and this game ends in a draw!
White moves….
…and black recaptures.
Conclusion
Now you know how to use opposition to defend against an opponent who is trying to promote!
Next week we take a look at where white went wrong, and how white could have promoted the pawn from initial starting position:
Back to the starting position.
Hint: it involves white using opposition offensively!
If there’s anything that you need help with this week please feel free to get in touch with Coach Lucas at lucas@rookly.com.
Enjoy the week off!