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How should one decide which rook to put on a central file? I usually just move the one which is closer to the file, unless there are weak squares in my position that one rook is defending. In positions where there are no weak pawns, how should I decide whether to move the rook of the side to which I castled or the other?

Rewan Demontay
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Smich
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3 Answers3

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Essentially, you should ask yourself a broader question: where should both of my rooks go in this position? There might be another (half-)open file which can be used by the other rook. If there's only one open file and little chance of another one opening or a pawn needing extra protection, it might not even matter which rook you use, since it's rather likely for the rooks to be doubled up on the same file anyway.

[FEN "r4rk1/ppp2ppp/3p4/8/8/3P4/PPP2PPP/R4RK1 w - - 0 1"]

In a position like this (ignoring the position of other pieces) it's more common to move Rfe1, since the chance that one of the a, b and c pawns needs extra protection combined is greater than the chance that f2 becomes weak. Indeed, that's the nearest rook, as you already mentioned.

Glorfindel
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    Another reason for moving the f-rook in such position could be that it allows Kf1 (Kf8) supporting the rook on e1 (e8). This could become relevant if you want to exchange rooks on that file. – user1583209 May 09 '20 at 18:36
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Try to determine which rook will be better off, if left on its current square. Here are some examples (for these I'll assume you have rooks on f1 and a1).

  • As you mentioned, a rook could be defending a weakness right now.
  • Could the file the rook's currently on end up being opened? For example, if White's f-pawn has a good chance of being exchanged, maybe it's best to keep the f1-rook where it is.
  • How much space would the rook not on the open file have - in general, this is one of the biggest considerations. For example, if you played Rae1, the f1-rook is stuck. But if you played Rfe1, the a1-rook still has room to move.

There are also other considerations. For example, on which side of the board do you want to concentrate your forces? If you're launching a kingside attack, moving the a1-rook to e1 would increase your influence in that sector.

Inertial Ignorance
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That's a good question, very difficult. I used to spend a lot of time on such a decision. I remember once when a similar question was asked to GM Vachier-Lagrave, something like why did he put the f1 rook in the open file d1 instead of the a1 rook. He replied: I don't think much about it because most of the time in complex positions we don't know which one to choose anyway! At first I was upset by this answer because I expected to learn something new, but his answer was actually very useful to me because if in complex positions a top rated player doesn't know, I won't know either. So now I don't give this decision too much thought!

Let me add however that details matter and in some positions there is a clear choice.

Take a very recent example from Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Teimour Radjabov, FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup (2020). 

[FEN "r1b2rk1/pp2bppp/4pn2/2n5/2B2B2/2N1PN2/PP3PPP/R2q1RK1 w - - 0 11"]
[title "Vachier-Lagrave vs Radjabov Online Nations Cup (2020)"]

1.Rfxd1 (1.Raxd1 b6 2. Bd6 Bxd6 3. Rxd6) b6 2. Nd4 (2.Bd6 Bxd6 3.Rxd6) Bb7 3.Rac1

In this position, taking in d1 with the rook f1 looks very natural to me because eventually you want the other rook to come in c1. Vachier-Lagrave played Rfxd1, later followed by Rac1.

However, if in the previous position your plan is to try to take possession of the "d-file" by later playing Bd6, then taking d1 with rook a1 or rook f1 doesn't matter much (see the variations). In this context, I now save time by applying the advice of Vachier-Lagrave.

Kortchnoi
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