White is NOT better after 23 moves. At first glance, White is better due to 2 pawn islands vs 3. However, Black will play a4 and exchange pawns on b3. This will reduce his pawn islands to 2. After the exchange on b3, Black would hold a microscopic edge due to better pieces and an impending c5 that might cripple White's Q side majority.

25....Qxe4 wins the rook.

If white plays 26. Rxe4 then 26.....Rd1+ 27. Re1 Rxe1 mate.

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Now Fritz reckons that black's best is 25...a4 at -0.45, but in human mode I also like 25....Rd3 threatening a4 and doubling rooks on the open file. Fritz and I think that Black has a small edge here.

<OhioChessFan> 24. h3 does take care of the back rank threat but white's Re4 is still pinned. Black has time to double rooks with Rb7 or Rd7 with the threat of Rd4 always in mind. And if g4, we get to play Qf3 and the white kingside is looking rickety. Nothing too disastrous for white but still a small black edge. Again Fritzie is putting evals in the vicinity of -0.3. Annoying fleabites of evals rather than stonking heffalumps....

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When you have an extra piece, the beginner's rule is to trade pieces with the goal of reaching a situation where you have one piece to none. Fine. But it's much better to force your opponent to trade pieces, even when he doesn't want to.

In this position, Black is a rook up. More importantly, White has no threats or counterplay. Therefore, Black should play aggressively, trying to set up his pieces on powerful posts. Eventually, the extra firepower will force White to seek trades to avoid losing more material.

Here, doubling on the d-file with the queen looks like the best idea and I like 26...Qd4. Black's plan, before White lost the rook, was to break up White's queenside pawns with ...a4. That is still available here, but now the main purpose is opening up a queenside file for the Rb8.

Let's say White decides on 27.h3 to give his king room. Black replies 27...a4. If White plays 28.bxa4, then 28...Rb2 pressures the f2 square. Black will easily get the pawn back later if need be; the important thing is to post the pieces aggressively.

Say 29.Rf1 to defend the f-pawn, then Black might play 29...Qd2.

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And White continues to be driven back and back.

As others have pointed out, when you find yourself a rook down with no compensation against a competent opponent, you are best off resigning and saving your self time and agony.

Rybka 4 x 64

White blunder: d 20 : 5 min :
(-3.72):24.Bb2. Best,

1. = (-0.25): 24.h3 a4 25.bxa4 Bd4 26.Bc1 Rd7 27.a3 h5 28.Rf1 Be5 29.Qe2 Bc7 30.f3 Rbd8 31.Be3 Qa5 32.Qc2 Rd3 33.c5

2. (-0.33): 24.g3 Rd7 25.R4e2 a4 26.bxa4 Qxc2 27.Rxc2 Ra8 28.Bc5 Rxa4 29.Kg2 Bf8 30.Bxf8 Kxf8 31.Kf3 Ke7 32.Rb1 Ra3+ 33.Kf4 Kf6 34.Rb3 e5+ 35.Ke4 Rd4+ 36.Ke3 Rxb3+ 37.axb3 Kf5

White blunder: d 18 : 2 min :
(-7.14):25.Qxb2. Best, g3, h3, -3.79.

White blunder: d 20
(-#2):26.Rxe4. Best, Qc3, Qa1, -7.39.

But then I realized two things.
A.) Its BLACK to play, not White!
B.) Its only a Monday.

To further emphasize the point <Phony Benoni> makes about counter-play for <fyad reject> and other's who are interested... When you are winning, your opponent's threats become more important than your own. This point, given by NM Dan Heisman, is very good to keep in mind. I've gotten myself into big trouble in both tournaments and casual play by not following the simple advice behind this point. Dan doesn't suggest playing passively, however, but he does suggest not allowing complications. Here's a simplistic example, with white to play:

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