Seventh rank

The seventh rank is the horizontal row containing a7, b7, c7, d7, e7, f7, g7, and h7. In each name, the letter identifies a vertical file and the 7 identifies the rank. It lies one rank below the edge where Black's non-pawn pieces begin. Its number is fixed and does not change with the viewer's perspective.

What happens on this rank

In the starting position, all eight Black pawns occupy the seventh rank. A white pawn that reaches it has not promoted yet: it must enter a promotion square on rank 8 with a move allowed by the rules. Black's pawns instead travel from rank 7 toward lower numbers as they try to reach rank 1.

Strategically, a white rook or queen on the seventh rank can often attack several pawns and restrict the black king because many Black pieces and pawns remain near that area. The comparable invasion by a black rook against White usually occurs on the second rank, not the seventh.