1 . Introduction
General comments and definition
The theory of open files, which I discovered, is to be regarded as one of the cornerstones of my system. Approximately 1 2 years ago, I published in the Ul'iener Schachzeitung the rule about creating outposts on open files, but at that time I had not yet realised that that particular manoeuvre was logically subordinate to the main purpose of operating down a file, namely managing to occupy the 7rh or grh rank. In other words, in order to break down your opponent's resistance on the file, you should set up the outpost. At the same time you should constantly keep your eye on the 7th rank, since the occupation of the latter is to be considered the main goal of any operation down a file.So establishing an outpost is only a subsidiary manoeuvre.
When delivering a lecture on open files in Scandinavia, I was in the habit of concluding with the following words: "I hope, gentlemen, that these rules about 'open files' will have served to 'open' your eyes.'' My little joke, which was also partially a serious remark, was never contradicted. The "open file" is my favourite amongst the children of my imagination, and it has always been a pleasure to be able to present to listeners or readers in its complete form this concept which cost me so much trouble and so many pangs of creation. But let us start at the beginning.
Definition: A file is open, when one's own pawn is not there (or when, though present, it has a major piece of one's own in front of it), as for example the h-file in the diagram.
39
Ihe white b-, f, and h-files are open, the h-file .from h3 onward. Ihe d-file is closed.
This rule means that the decision as to whether a file is "open" or "closed" does not depend on whether the file is aimed towards totally empty friendly squares or to actual enemy pieces (usually pawns) . There is in fact no difference in principle between attacking a piece and attacking a square.
40
Consider diagram 40, and now imagine on the other hand the same position, without a pawn on h7; there is simply the square h7 which White would like to occupy. In both cases, White will attempt with the material at hand (I only gave the essentials of the position) to bring to bear on h7 more pieces than Black can summon defenders.
Once that has been achieved, he will in one case play �h lxh7 and in the other �h l -h7; in the first example he proudly replaces a captured piece with his own, and in the second he proudly puts his piece on the square he has seized.
So there is no difference of any sort between the h7-square which is to be captured and the h7-pawn, because the h7-pawn will have been reduced to immobility, since we must render
as immobile as possible any object we are attacking.
2. How open files occur (or are born) Peacefully • Resulting from an attack The point of attack
From the definition of an open file, it can be deduced that the line becomes open as a result of the disappearance of one's own pawn. This disappearance can be achieved in a peaceful manner when our opponent is obliged to exchange a well placed (central) piece of ours which is recaptured by a pawn.
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Black plays 6. . . ixe3, and by doing so he opens the ffile for White.
Here we must emphasise the word central: it is rare for one to be able to force the opponent into a line-opening exchange by placing one of your pieces on the flank (and this always never happens in the opening). You are much more likely to achieve your aim by positioning a piece in the centre, because centrally posted pieces whose field of action extends to all sides do get exchanged. A further example can be seen in the following position from the game Thomas -Alekhine, Baden-Baden 1 9 2 5.
42
Black has positioned his knights in the centre and White was obliged to exchange with 14J2Jxd4 cxd4 (opening the c-file) and subsequently 1SJ2�xd5 VMxdS 16.if3 VMd7 17.ixh7 VMxb7.
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The importance of the said file was already considerable. Then came 1 8.c4! (the pawn could not have been held on c2) 18 .. . dxc3 opening the
The open file 33
d-file, since his own blocking piece (each of one's own pieces is a blocking piece) disappears. Mter 19.bxc3 came �ac8 and �fd8 with play on both files.
So, position your pieces centrally and be sure that in doing so you do not encourage your opponent to try a pawn roller! Doing so frequently enough provokes your opponent into
exchanges, which open files for you.
Think back to the position in diagram 41 and add the moves 6 ... !b6 7.'1Md2 0-0 8.0-0-0 h6?.
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We now have a typical position in which files can be opened actively. Thanks to the pawn on h6, White can quickly bring about the disappearance of his own g-pawn; this means that h6 was a bad move. (The move could hardly be criticised as losing a tempo, because Black has already completed his development and there is a difference between going to sleep after finishing a job and going to sleep on the job!) The advance on h6 ( = the object of attack, according to Tarrasch) goes as follows:
h2-h3, g2-g4, g4-g5 and after h6xg5 a piece recaptures and then the g-file is occupied by �g 1 ; it now appears open. One of our pieces may be in the way, but that is not important since the piece is mobile whereas a pawn is less so, and we really have our work cut out if we try to alter that fact!
Example 2: For the sake of practice, let us imagine that in diagram 44 the ie3 and ib6 are
not there, that the h-pawn is still on h7 and the g-pawn on g6.
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Now g6 is the object of attack and the h-file is the one to be opened (it is always the file next to
the object of attack) . The plan is h2-h4-h5xg6.
Beginners are in the habit of over-estimating the importance of the file. One day, one of them proudly showed me his open file, but he had neither a rook nor a queen on the board, having already sacrificed them!
In the position after h4, we must first set about the defending knight on f6, by something like l2Jd5, and then h4-h5 can be played comfortably without it being a sacrifice. The last resort for the defender, by-passing the pawn being attacked by g6-g5 after White's h4-h5, does not work here as g5 is not protected.
3. The ideal (purpose) behind all operations on a file
Less important accompanying phenomena • marauding • flanking attacks
The idea behind any operation on a file consists of finally penetrating via that file in to the opponent's position, in other words on to the 7rh or 8th rank.
This is a very important rule. In stating it, we should emphasise via that file, because if for example we have been active on the d-file and then reach the 7th rank in a roundabout way by
moves such as �d 1 -d4-a4-a7, I do not consider the manoeuvre I have just described to be a direct exploitation of the d-file.
Here are some elementary cases of operations on a file:
1 . Operating on the h-file:
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We occupy it by I .%Yhl t (if we imagine an arrow going from h i to h8, that would show the direction of action on the h-file) l ... �g8.
And now according to our rule, \Wh8 or \Wh7.
The former does not work, so 2.%Yh7t �f8 and then 3.%Yh8t with the capture \Wxb8 (we shall describe as marauding any fork-like attack on 2 pieces) . This capture is in no way coincidental here, but rather the not untypical accompaniment to such a powerful penetration to the 7th or gch rank.
2. With the queen on d7 instead of on b8:
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Here the result would be no less unpleasant for Black after I .%Yhl t �g8 2.%Yh7t �f8 3.%Yh8t
�e7 4.%Yxg7t � moves anywhere s.%Yxd7t
�xd7 6.g7.
Here, let me draw your attention to the triangular series of queen moves Wh7 -h8-g7 which make up a sort of flanking movement.
We can summarise what has been said as follows:
when there is insufficient resistance (no opposing pawn on h6 or h5) the attacker will secure the entry squares and penetrate to the 7th and grh
ranks, where it is not uncommon for him to carry out a marauding or flanking attack. (Moreover, things can happen in a characteristic manner:
if you have done things correctly for a few moves, then fate will reward you with the possibility of seizing some material! This could also be called post-war morality.) Put like this, the whole matter seems easy to understand and also to achieve, but in reality there are major obstacles to overcome, as section 4 will demonstrate.
4. Possible obstacles to operations down a file The block of granite and how to undermine it The concept of protected and unprotected obstacles (pawns)
Two methods of carrying out an attack on opposing pawns which are in the way
The evolutionary and the revolutionary attack We have seen how important the free access we have won to the 7ch and gch ranks can become.
This being the case, it seems likely that nature herself, so to speak, may have done something to protect this sensitive spot, just as good-hearted and wise old Mother Nature has put man's heart in a well protected spot behind his ribs.
(This place is so well protected and the heart so deeply hidden that in the case of many people, one might well think . . . that they were born without one.) Just to reassure the more sensitive among my readers, let me point out straight away that heartlessness is a not a serious disease, since it causes li tde pain to those affected.
The characteristic and natural protective set-up can be seen from the diagram.
The open file 35
Here the g6-pawn prevents the attacker from reaching the 7rh rank. "To get to the 7th or grh
rank you will have to go over my dead body,"
the pawn seems to be saying.
If the said opposing pawn is protected by another pawn, it would make no sense attempting to run headlong into this block of granite, for example by tripling pieces down the file. It would be much cleverer first to undermine the g-pawn, by something like h2-h4-h5 then h5xg6. After h7xg6, our block of granite has been reduced to a single little pawn in need of protection. In the following diagram b4-b5xc6 would have the effect of undermining the pawn.
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As we emphasised earlier, we recognise the pawn to be a sound defensive piece.
Protecting something with pieces is almost a misconception, only a pawn can protect without complaint over a long period of time.
So a "protected" pawn is one that is protected by one of its own colleagues.
Should we entice our g-pawn out of his club, it will be attacked by a lot of pieces. So the obvious idea would be to win the pawn after piling on to it with attacker after attacker, firstly because of the material this wins, and secondly to break down resistance on the file.
The technique is first to bring our pieces into attacking positions. Then a lively struggle will follow. Black will protect as often as we attack and we will try to gain the upper hand by thinning out the ranks of the defenders, which can be done by:
a) driving them away b) exchanges
c) cutting off one of the defensive pieces.
This therefore transfers the attack from the target piece itself to its defenders, a quite normal process which we probably learned and used at school (in the rough-and-tumble of the playground, of course) .
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This endgame demonstrates the process: 1 J�h2
®h7 2J�ehl (White can pile on the attackers
since the obstacle, the h6-pawn, has no pawn protection) 2 ... �f8 3.tLlf5 gb6 and attack and defence are finely balanced 3:3. But with his next move, 4.d6 the defending �b6 is taken out of the fight and h6 falls, which simultaneously allows White to penetrate to the 7ch and gch ranks.
But suppose Black already had both of his rooks on the 6ch rank, as shown.
5 1
Then the exchange sacrifice 4 .. . �xd6 would be possible. But in this case too 4 ... �xd6 would be bad, because it would be met with s.gxh6t �g8 6.ghst �f7 7.g ih7t �f6.
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And now what seems a quiet move (after the powerful moves by which one rook occupied the 7ch rank and the other the gch!), namely s.gg7 then mate on the next move!
Another example is the following.
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l.tLle6t � moves anywhere 2.tLlxd8 gxd8 3.gxf6 = eliminating defenders by exchange.
What we have up till now been doing to the obstacle may be called an evolutionary attack; this is implied by the whole method of concentrating on one point in order to build up superior forces to attack it. The goal is also symptomatic, namely partly the gain of material (we were striving to take a pawn) and partly the ideal we had in view of seizing the 7ch rank. This mixture is quite characteristic.
A totally different scenario occurs in the following diagram.
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Only the most important actors are on stage.
We start from the realisation that any play down the h-file by l .�ahl would serve no purpose,
The open file 37
because of l . . . lt:Jf6 or l . . . h6 setting up a block of granite on the h-file. How else might White exploit the h-file? Answer: by backing away from the idea of winning the h-pawn, and setting all in motion (including any necessary sacrifices) to remove it from the way by force, thus l .�xh7t
�xh7 2.�hl mate.
This may be a simple finish, but it appears highly significant to me because it makes totally clear the difference between an evolutionary
attack and a revolutionary attack.
So, let us look at another example.
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The evolutionary attack would lead to the capture of our goal after l .�ahl �f8 2./ie7 (thinning out the defenders by exchanges) . But the revolutionary attack would not bother about winning the h7 pawn and be as follows:
l.�xh7 �xh7 (there is no question of having won the pawn, since White has given up a whole rook for it) 2.�hl t �g8 3.�h8 mate. The idea behind the revolutionary attack, as is clear from this example, consists of forcibly clearing a way through to the 7rh or grh rank. Here one rook sacrifices itself for its partner, so that the latter can get on to h8; yes, even on the 64 squares there is comradeship.
In what chronological order should the two methods of attack outlined above be used?
Answer: first you should try the concentration of forces, attacking the offending pawn several times, and in doing so you should look for
the chance to force the defending pieces into uncomfortable positions in which they get in each other's way (frequently the defending side suffers from a lack of space) . Mter that, you should amongst other things consider the possibility of a forcible breakthrough, in other words a revolutionary sort of attack.
5. "Restricted" advance on a file in order to give it up in favour of another file, or the indirect exploitation of a file. The file as a springboard and its resemblance to a career in the diplomatic service.
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In this position the direct exploitation of the f-file (by �xf7t after previously forcing away the covering �f8) would be impossible with the minimal amount of material to hand. But obviously the simple �fl -f5xb5 wins a pawn.
This could be followed up by �b5-b7.
It is of prime importance to us to look into the logical content of this manoeuvre. Since �flxf7t was not played, we cannot consider this to be a direct exploitation of the f-file in the sense of our definition. On the other hand, it would be carrying that bourgeois virtue of ingratitude a bit too far to claim that the winning of the b-pawn had not the slightest thing to do with the f-file.
Where then is the truth? Answer: the file was here not used directlj' in the fullest sense of the word, but rather indirectly, like a sort of springboard.
If someone chooses a career in diplomacy because he feels he has the power to put Lloyd George completely in the shade, he will make use of his chosen profession to do just that. But should the choice of career have been because the young "dreamer" hopes to move in refined circles and in the long run to win the hand of a millionaire's daughter, then for him his chosen career is simply a springboard . . . into his future father-in-law's cheque book.
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In this skeleton position id4 then �g7t would be the direct exploitation of the g-file, whereas
�g3 then �g3-h3xh6t would be the indirect.
In the next position we see the indirect use of the c-file as a springboard to the a-file: �cl -c5-a5
(c£ Nimzowitsch - Allies, page 7 1 and Thomas - Alekhine, page 70)
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Your averagely gifted critic will be inclined to deny that the distinction investigated above has any practical value, but for those who think that their intellectual powers will help them bring light to the darkness, the first method should be of greater worth since much light is thus cast on the whole business of files. I could perhaps have expressed the above in more simple terms, but I took pleasure in giving to these mediocre critics (who can never see or understand what is essential) a little something to criticise, even if it is only a question of style.
6. The outpost
The radius of attack • The story about the newspaper • Which piece should occupy the outpost on a flank file and which on a central file • The exchange of roles and what it might prove
Let us begin by having a look at the following diagram.
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White has the centre and the d-file, Black the d6-pawn which is keeping an eye on the centre and the e-file; otherwise the game is level.
White to move should now try to do something with the d-file. This seems difficult because the
"protected" d6-pawn is like a piece of granite.
Should White wish, despite what was said in rule 4, to attack d6 with �d l -d2 and �e l -d l ,
The open file 39
not only would you, dear reader, laugh in scorn, but even the d6-pawn itself would do so! So, let us rather stick to the rules and try to undermine d6 with a well-timed e4-e5 (see point 4) . That would also turn out to be impossible here, for the opponent's e-file is more than good enough to discourage our intended e4-e5.
So we abandon the d-file as such and content ourselves with exploiting it indirectly, that is to say with the restricted advance �d 1 -d4 and then the transfer of the rook to a4, as described in point 5 . But even this manoeuvre is pretty weak, because Black's queenside is too compact (but it would have worked against an isolated a-pawn, with the e 1 -rook also being brought on to the
So we abandon the d-file as such and content ourselves with exploiting it indirectly, that is to say with the restricted advance �d 1 -d4 and then the transfer of the rook to a4, as described in point 5 . But even this manoeuvre is pretty weak, because Black's queenside is too compact (but it would have worked against an isolated a-pawn, with the e 1 -rook also being brought on to the