There is a good reason why rook endgames are the most common endgame. Rooks generally are the last pieces to be traded since they take the longest to develop. A little bit of basic knowledge in rook endgames can go a long way!
Remember that rooks hate pawns! And since pawns are blocking all the files to start the game, rooks hang back and wait for the dust to settle before figuring out where they want to be.
Coaches: Here's three rook endgames I like to show my students. Maybe you'll get a lot of use out of them too.