WEAK PAWNS
The pawn structure is probably the most important characteristic of a position. Not only is it important by itself, it is also strongly connected with king safety and piece activity. Being rather static by nature, it is the defining element of a position for a longer period of time. The pawn structure can be divided in the following sub-topics: weak pawns, weak squares, space (advantage), pawn majorities, passed pawns and pawn breaks.
11. Does my opponent have weak pawns?
The main targets in chess are the king and the pawns, as both suffer from poor mobility. Taking into account that there are eight pawns and only one king, the weakness of the pawns is more relevant than the safety of the king. It is simply easier to defend the king, than to take care of every single pawn. Hence, more games are won by prosaically winning a pawn than by delivering a beautiful mate attack. The problem with weak pawns not only is their susceptibility of being captured. More often than not, the defender is able to hang on to them. By doing so, however, his pieces a getting tied up. Defending a pawn often means to place the protecting pieces on passive squares. That way, the energy of such pieces diminishes and so does the energy of the overall position. Energy translates to value. Passive pieces have to be discounted in value. As a consequence, by defending a pawn with many pieces, the energy lost can be equivalent to losing the pawn. Often, it is even worse and losing (abandoning) the pawn would be the lesser evil. This is but one example where you can see that chess is a multi-facetted holistic phenomenon, where everything is connected. Here, we were just observing the interplay between the integrity of the pawn structure and piece activity.
12. How do I immobilize my opponent’s isolated pawn?
Immobilizing isolated pawns is a good strategy in gerneral. I want to pay partucular attention now to the phenomenon of the isolated queen’s pawn (IQP), as it happens to arise in many popular openings. The player with IQP strives to mive it forward, in order to open files for his pieces or to just get rid of his liability. Sometimes this even happens in the shape of a sacrifice, either for the sake of clearance or demolition. Hence, our first task is to immobilize this dangerous pawn by controlling the square in front or, even better, by blocking it. Once the isolani is immobilized, it is a sitting duck. Its siege rarely leads to winning it quickly, but it binds enemy pieces to its defense. In many cases it can be conquered in the endgame.
13. How do I immobilize my opponent’s backward pawn?
As it happens with the isolated pawn, the backward pawn not only is a weakness by itself, it also comes with a weak square in front of it. This can be potentially used as an outpost for enemy pieces, preferably knights. Hence, the bearer of the backward pawn wants to push it, not only to get rid of this liability, but also to liberate his pieces. Therefore, our main concern is to prevent this very pawn break from happening.
14. How do I handle my opponent’s doubled pawns?
The main problems with doubled pawns is their lack of mobility, which make them easy targets. Sometimes, the front pawn is more vulnerable as in the Nimzoindian, sometimes it is the back pawn (see the Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation). In other occasions both pawns are equally vulnerable, as in the French Winawer. The best way to handle doubled pawns is to prevent them from moving or being exchanged. Blocking them is one of the most common mechanisms here.
15. Does my opponent have artificially isolated pawns?
Isolated pawns are pawns without neighbors. Artificially isolated pawns are adjacent to each other, but cannot easily be connected. In this case, the more advanced pawn is a weakness until the connection is established. A good example is the pawn h5 in the Classical Variation of the Caro-Kann. With Black our goal would be to prevent the unification of the pawns through g2-g4.
16. Does my opponent have an exposed central pawn?
Also pawns which are commonly regarded as healthy can become weak. A good example is the Sicilian pawn structure with pawns on e4 and f4. Once the f-pawn has moved to f4, which happens very often, the pawn e4 becomes soft. Can you imagine that it can actually be attacked six times? There is the Nf6 to begin with. Then add a Bb7, a Nc5, a Qa8, the pawn push …b5-b4 (getting rid of the defender Nc3) and the exchange sacrifice …Rc8xc3 (doing the same). Attacking the pawn e4 is one of the main winning ideas for Black in the Open Sicilian.
17. Does my opponent have weaknesses on the 2nd or 7th rank?
Even pawns that are still at home can easily become weak. Just think about the bishop sacrifice on h7 in the French Defense. The move Qg4 in the same opening attacks the pawn g7 sometimes in a very unpleasant manner. Then, the history of chess is full of catastrophes happening on the square f7. Also have in mind the pawn b7 in Queen Pawn openings, which can be attacked by Qb3 after Black’s queen’s bishop has prematurely left its initial square. Of course, White is not immune to problems on his second rank either.
18. Can I create weak pawns in my opponent’s camp by tactical operations or by means of a pawn lever?
Sometomes, strong players weaken their pawn structure as part of trade off. This might be directly baked into an opening variation. The Shveshnikov is a typical example, where weaknesses in the pawn structure are traded for activity. Other than that, experienced players are very reluctant when it comes to inflicting weaknesses to their pawn structure. Therefore, if we want to see weak pawns in the structure of our strong opponent, we have to actively work on its demolition. Tactical force, piece exchanges or pawn breaks (remember the battering ram “Grond” from “Lord of the rings”?) are the usual means to this end.
19. Can I seduce my opponent into weakening his pawn structure voluntarily by conducting provocative piece maneuvers?
That’s an expert ploy with a psychological element. In the Hedgehog it is a common method to dance around with the knights on the squares e5 or c5, in order to lure White into playing b4 or f4, thus weakening the pawns c4 and e4.
20. Can I seduce my opponent into weakening his pawn structure by making (camouflaged) waiting moves?
Sometimes both players are hiding in their trenches and there is no apparent way to make progress. What happens, if you are the stronger player and want to win? Moving your king to and fro won’t help, as your opponent might just do the same. Instead, you have to engage in maneuvering, which has the appearance of planning something (even if that is not the case). Your opponent might feel compelled to become active, thus opening up his position for you. Often, it is a good idea to bide your time in an intelligent way to give your opponent enough rope to hang himself.
21. Will my action lead to weak pawns (and squares) in my position?
Once Wilhelm Steinitz found out that pawns cannot move backwards, the chess world became very sensitive with regard to weakening pawn moves. Always think twice before moving a pawn, as it cannot made undone.
22. If I have a weak pawn, how can I get rid of it?
Try to get rid of weak pawns by exchanging them against other pawns or by making them change the file through exchanging pieces.
23. When is it okay to have doubled pawns?
There is one principal insight, which is extremely important, specifically for positional players. Don’t overrate your pawn structure! Don’t make avoiding weak pawns a rigid rule. Always have in mind that it is piece activity, which is at the center of chess strategy. It is the benchmark to measure everything else against. The pieces (the big guns) are the masters and the pawns have to be at their service. If you don’t take this truism into account, your game will be too static.
That said, doubled pawns can be okay, if they lead to open files and active piece play. Moreover, they can be a value per se. Consider the capture …gxf6 in the Caro-Kann or the French Rubinstein-structure. On f6 the pawn controls the central square e5. It has the option to move to f5, from where it controls the square e4, making it inaccessible for the white pieces and potentially establishing an outpost for a black knight. Additionally, Black’s rooks get options on the g-file and his bishop can influence the long diagonal via g7.
24. When is it okay to have an isolated pawn?
Isolated pawns are okay, if you get active piece play or attacking chances. It is helpful, if you have some control of the square in front of the pawn, in order to prevent its blockade and to be able to push it forward.
25. When is it okay to have a backward pawn?
Most of the time it isn’t the backward pawn which is the problem, as it is normally easy to defend. If we take the Najdorf-center (d6, e5) as an example, the pawn is reliantly protected by the Be7. It is making itself extremely useful by defending the pawn e5. White’s e4-pawn, by contrast, doesn’t enjoy such a luxury and tends to be fragile. If it gets supported by f2-f3, this will then affect White’s king safety in a negative way.
As we know, it is the weak square in front of the backward pawn, that gives more reason for concern, than the pawn itself. If in the Najdorf-example White could use the square d5 as an outpost for his knight, Black might get into trouble. However, in the Najdorf Black usually has a good control of this square through the presence of the Nf6, the Be6 (sometimes Bb7) and the maneuver …Nd7-b6. After an exchange on d5, White mostly has to recapture with the pawn, leaving the d-file closed as aresult.
26. When is it okay to have hanging pawns?
Generally speaking, hanging pawns (two connected pawns, which form a pawn island) are a liability, which is sometimes compensated by active piece play. There are different forms of hanging pawns. Let’s take the most common variety with Black having the pawns on d5 and c5 as an example. If White is having a knight on d2, as it can happen in some Queen Indians, the position is mostly equal. With a knight on c3 and a bishop fianchettoed on g2, the average evaluation is +=, with +/- being possible under certain circumstances.
