Project approval after AI review on 2 November 2026. Human proofreading is still pending.
Lesson 11
Clear paths for rooks
- What you will learn
- You recognise an open file and put a rook on it.
- What you should already know
- How the rook moves
- Lesson 2: How the pieces move
Time: about 5 minutes
Thinking questions in this lesson
You can ask yourself these thinking questions in any position. They help you find a good move.
- Which piece could be better placed?
Step 1 of 6
Look first
Look at the pawns. One file has none.
Tap a square on the file that has no pawns.
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space marks a square or removes the mark.
Choose a square from a list
Position as a list
White
- King g1
- Rook a1
- Rook f1
- Pawn a2
- Pawn b2
- Pawn c2
- Pawn e4
- Pawn f2
- Pawn g2
- Pawn h2
Black
- King g8
- Rook a8
- Rook f8
- Pawn a7
- Pawn b7
- Pawn c7
- Pawn e5
- Pawn f7
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h7
Step 2 of 6
Decide
Which piece could be better placed? Here, it’s the rooks.
Which plan uses the open file?
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.
Position as a list
White
- King g1
- Rook a1
- Rook f1
- Pawn a2
- Pawn b2
- Pawn c2
- Pawn e4
- Pawn f2
- Pawn g2
- Pawn h2
Black
- King g8
- Rook a8
- Rook f8
- Pawn a7
- Pawn b7
- Pawn c7
- Pawn e5
- Pawn f7
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h7
Step 3 of 6
Try it
Put a rook on the open file.
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.
Choose a move from a list
Position as a list
White
- King g1
- Rook a1
- Rook f1
- Pawn a2
- Pawn b2
- Pawn c2
- Pawn e4
- Pawn f2
- Pawn g2
- Pawn h2
Black
- King g8
- Rook a8
- Rook f8
- Pawn a7
- Pawn b7
- Pawn c7
- Pawn e5
- Pawn f7
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h7
Step 4 of 6
Why does it work?
A rook moves in a straight line as far as the path is clear. Pawns in front of it block its way.
A file without pawns is called an open file. There, the rook reaches across the whole board.
Key idea
Put your rooks on open files.
When does this apply?
This pays off if the rook can achieve something from there. If an opponent’s rook is already on the file, first check whether your rook will be safe there.
Step 5 of 6
New position, same idea
This time, a different file is open.
You are playing Black. Put a rook on the open file.
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.
Choose a move from a list
Position as a list
White
- King g1
- Rook a1
- Rook f1
- Pawn a2
- Pawn b2
- Pawn d3
- Pawn e4
- Pawn f2
- Pawn g2
- Pawn h2
Black
- King g8
- Rook a8
- Rook f8
- Pawn a7
- Pawn b7
- Pawn d6
- Pawn e5
- Pawn f7
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h7
Step 6 of 6
Nimzowitsch and today
Source
Nimzowitsch devotes a whole chapter to the open file and describes how such a file comes about. The text and positions are newly written for the course.
Today’s view (editorial note)
Today, open files are considered among the most important targets for rooks. Players often put both rooks one behind the other on the same file.