Chess Board Ranks and Files:
Part of the Beginner's Chess Guide (Section 1)
Chess Board
Ranks And Files
[Files]
In addition to the horizontal Rows, which you now know as Ranks, a Chess Board can also be split into 8 vertical Columns, known as Files.
Using Algebraic Notation, each File is given a unique, alphabetical 'marker' ('tag', 'hook', whatever you want to call it) ...
Starting from White's base and rising up to the back of Black camp, the Files are marked as:
- File a ... (a1-a8)
- File b ... (b1-b8)
- File c ... (c1-c8)
- File d ... (d1-d8)
- File e ... (e1-e8)
- File f ... (f1-f8)
- File g ... (g1-g8)
- File h ... (h1-h8)
Okay, now you know what a File IS, you need to know the difference between a File which is Half-Open and one which is fully Open ...
Not only will an understanding of this stuff help with planning your attacks; it'll also serve as an ALARM, to wake you up to potential weaknesses in your defences.
If you bluster on, in ignorance, you can bet your remaining kidney that, sooner or later, a savvy opponent WILL exploit these gaps and proceed to kick seven shades of the proverbials out of you.
Read on, McDuff ...
Moving On: Half-Open Files (Page 4).
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