An open file in
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
is a with no
pawns of either color on it. In the diagram, the e-file is an open file. An open file can provide a line of attack for a
rook or
queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
. Having rooks or queens on open files or
half-open files is considered advantageous, as it allows a player to attack more easily, since a rook or queen can move down the file to penetrate the opponent's position.
Strategic advantage
A common strategic objective for a rook or queen on an open file is to reach its seventh or eighth (the opponent's second or first rank). Controlling the seventh rank is generally worth at least a pawn, as it threatens all the opponent's yet-unmoved pawns to some degree. Controlling the eighth rank is likely to force the opposing king into a more exposed position and puts pressure on any remaining pieces, or if the rank is already clear, allows unobstructed movement behind the enemy forces.
Aron Nimzowitsch first recognized the power of a on an open file, writing in his famous book ''
My System'' that the main objective of a rook or queen on an open file is "the eventual occupation of the 7th or 8th rank".
Many games are decided based on this strategy. In the game
Anand–
Ivanchuk,
Amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In M ...
2001,
Anand
sacrificed a pawn to open the d-file. White then used the open file to deploy his rooks to the seventh and eighth ranks and win the game, by exploiting the weakness of Black's a-pawn. White's dominance on the d-file allowed him to maneuver his rooks to aggressive posts deep within Black's defense.
See also
*
Half-open file
Notes
References
*
Further reading
*
{{chess
Chess terminology
Chess strategy