In Michael Stean's classic "Simple Chess" he points out that open files don't always operate on a "first come, first serve" basis. As Nimzovitch first pointed out, the role of the open file is to get your rook to the 7th or 8th rank.
In this game from the current Bangkok Open, GM Hrant Melkumyan demonstrates this quite effectively, opening a file that his opponent already has a rook on, but one without entry points into Black's position. After the Black rook moves to b8, it is Black that not only takes over the b file, but also the 7th and 8th ranks. After that, White is forced to defend a host of weak pawns, which eventually, he is unable to do.
20th Bangkok Chess Club Open 2022 Shangri-La Chiang Mai Hotel, C (1.2), 22.10.2022
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