A column is a vertical support, with an elongated shape, which allows it to support the weight of a structure. The usual thing is that its section is circular: when it is quadrangular, it is called a pillar.
As an architectural element, columns are classified differently according to the link they maintain with the rest of the components of the structure. The isolated column is one that is separated from any vertical element of the building. The attached column, on the other hand, is placed juxtaposed to the rest of the elements, while the embedded column appears to be embedded in a wall.
The classical column has three elements: the base (the lower part), the shaft (the middle part) and the capital (the upper part). This means that the base supposes the support of the shaft, and that it does the same with the capital.
According to DigoPaul, the commemorative column, on the other hand, is a monument that is made to honor a person or to remember some relevant event. It usually reaches a great height and is located on a podium.
By extension to the architectural sense, a person or a thing is called a column when they serve as support or protection. For example: “Diana is the column of the whole family; I don’t know what others would do if she were missing them “, ” My knowledge of world history is the backbone of my professional career. “
For journalism, a column is an opinion piece. Whoever makes the column is known as a columnist and usually responds to the editorial line of the entire newspaper.
Finally, at the military level, a column is a formation of military units marching in an orderly fashion, one after another.
Open and semi-open column in chess
Chess is a board game whose rhetoric also contains the concept of a column. So much so that two of the most famous strategies, which are closely related, are known as the open column and the semi-open column.
An open column is a particular way of arranging the pieces so that a precise type of attack can be made. This distribution consists of providing a line of attack for the rook or queen, removing all the pawns from the second row (their original position).
In this game, having a rook or the queen in an open file is considered an advantageous point for the player, who will be able to carry out a series of precise maneuvers until reaching the opponent’s sector and eliminating his king. It is a distribution of the chips that allows greater ease in the attack. The fundamental objective of an open file is to reach the seventh and eighth rows in order to dominate the game. It is worth mentioning that this strategy is one of the most used to win in this game.
A semi-open file, on the other hand, is a file without pawns from the opposite side. What for a team is an open column, for the opponent is a semi-open. It can be beneficial for both of you, as long as you know how to strategize effectively. A semi-open file offers great ease and freedom of movement, a greater vulnerability on the part of the opponent’s pieces and, therefore, greater possibilities of reaching the opponent’s king, as long as he does not overtake us with any of his rooks. and his lady.
A good strategy is to make the most of the situation: dominating with the rooks and taking advantage of the advantage of having pawns, attacking with the minor pieces to protect the big ones and, in this way, managing to accumulate pieces in the squares adjacent to the figures. opponent’s strengths. This type of strategy is one of the most common to achieve an unquestionable checkmate.
