Good advice. I remember when I was just starting and I remembered reading rooks work well on open files, I would move my rooks there, and there would be my opponents bishop pair sitting on the other end, so the file was completely unusable.
rooks to open files
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General rules are general rules. Understanding to what degree they are excepted in the current position makes for a continued close fight or even a nice advantage. The general rule is still a very handy place to start though.
Oct 23, 2008
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#5
The reason rooks are usually considered stronger on open files is because they control more squares, and provide some attack on the enemy position. If there is a deadlock at some point up an open or semi-open file then a rook may be more use elsewhere, such as behind a pawn that you are able to advance.
My advice: look through the current position and imagine it in the future by calculating weak squares and focussing your attention on them.
Tip on rooks going to open files: conider its effectiveness on how it can penetrate along the file. If the square of importance is guarded reconsider. Don't just choose it because it's open.Decide how effective the rook will be on that file.