Not Understanding This Puzzle

This puzzle has me stumped. lichess.org/training/H3Clg

Usually the puzzle wants you to avoid the obvious capture, so I didn't think I should take with the rook. I was trying to figure out any way to not get the rook captured, but it turns out that's what it wanted. How do you decipher such things? I guess it was trying to create a passed pawn?

King just captures pawn and promote their own pawn after R×R

@devbanana said in #1:
> This puzzle has me stumped. lichess.org/training/H3Clg
>
> Usually the puzzle wants you to avoid the obvious capture, so I didn't think I should take with the rook. I was trying to figure out any way to not get the rook captured, but it turns out that's what it wanted. How do you decipher such things? I guess it was trying to create a passed pawn?

No.It's not like that

@devbanana said in #1:
> This puzzle has me stumped. lichess.org/training/H3Clg
>
> Usually the puzzle wants you to avoid the obvious capture, so I didn't think I should take with the rook. I was trying to figure out any way to not get the rook captured, but it turns out that's what it wanted. How do you decipher such things? I guess it was trying to create a passed pawn?
Most endgames involve trying to create a passed pawn and queen it...its the main aim, so use that idea when you are searching for solutions in endgame positions

@NickUK1969 said in #5:
> Most endgames involve trying to create a passed pawn and queen it...its the main aim, so use that idea when you are searching for solutions in endgame positions

Thanks. I'm pretty new to this so some of these puzzles are confusing. Appreciate the clarification.

@devbanana I think the underlying basic theme has to do with "attraction". The king (by capturing back the rook) gets misplaced, so the pawns on the kingside get weak...

You can practice this kind of puzzle-theme here: lichess.org/training/attraction

Have fun!

As you progress in puzzle ratings, the puzzles get less obvious. You can still use "puzzle logic" that doesn't always work in games, because you know that in all puzzles 1) you are winning with the right move, and 2) there is only one right move (I believe). However, just because puzzles up until this point are mostly about winning a piece doesn't mean that they will remain that way.

Just find the line where u have a decisive advantage. Puzzles test ur calculation power & if RxR gives u a decisive advantage (according to ur calculations) then u may play it no matter what the puzzle asks for ( Sacrifice, Quite move etc). The main aim is to win.

you want to solve puzzles based on what the position looks like, not based off of how other puzzles work

this would get you away from the idea that you should always ignore the obvious capture
And it might enable you to see that capturing the rook makes the king unable to defend the isolated pawn and so the white king can invade on the kingside easily