What is the Hedgehog?

The Hedgehog is no specific opening, but a middlegame structure like e.g. the IQP. Hedgehog positions can arise through numerous openings or variations. The diagram above is only one of many possible examples.

Black’s winning potential

At first glance, the Hedgehog doesn’t look like much. Black’s position appears to be some kind of fortress or draw-weapon. In reality, the Hedgehog is more of an attempt to win with Black by creating a number of imbalances. Let’s look at the facts:

1. Asymmetrical Structure
In the Hedgehog there is no high possibility for symmetrical structures to arise. Hence, it is difficult for White to play for a draw.

2. Black’s central Pawn Majority
Once White’s c-pawn is gone (which so happens after b6-b5), the way is paved for the d6-d5 break.

3. Superior King Safety
The safety of Whit’s s king is often problematic in Hedgehog positions, especially after f2-f4.

4. Huge Lever Potential
Although b6-b5 is the most important advance, it is not the only one. In the Hedgehog Black can unanimously use ALL of his pawns for pawn breaks.

Metagame Qualities

The Hedgehog also harbors a couple of advantages, which are not or only indirectly related to the position on the board.

1. Competitive Advantage
As the structure is complicated and the optical appearance sometimes are deceptive, it places high demands on the protagonists. This offers more chances for a competitive advantage compared to a more simple structure. Since we as black players have more expertise than our opponents, we are able to profit from this potential knowledge gap.

2. Psycho Weapon
Being a counter opening, the Hedgehog allows Black to lay on the lookout. In equal position, White might feel obliged to prove an opening advantage, thus overreaching his position. But even if White doesn’t have any particularly aggressive intentions, he might be manipulated into killing himself. The Hedgehog structure enables Black to maneuver and to provoke, seduce or tease his opponent. For White it will become very difficult to keep cool in the long run. Most players will lose their composure and weaken their pawn structure.

3. Efficiency
The Hedgehog player is capable to shelter behind his armor in a multitude of variations, arising from openings such as English, Sicilian, Queen’s Indian , Nimzo Indian, Bogo Indian etc. The universal character of the structure saves Black a lot of time when working on his opening repertoire. As it is more about general plans, Black can manage without too much of concrete knowledge.

The advance b6-b5

The b6-b5 thrust is the most important black pawn break. Studying it is a good way for the novice to enter the Hedgehog universe, as the resulting sub-structures can be examined systematically. In many cases play unfolds mechanically and it may be surprising how easy it is for Black to obtain the advantage, at times. Of course, this assumes that White commits an error or two. However, as the Hedgehog basically is a sealed book for the uninitiated, this happens often enough.

Further Topics

In its complexity, the Hedgehog contains many different aspects. In case there is a demand, I will cover those as well.