Pawn structure
Encyclopedia
In chess
, the pawn structure (sometimes known as the pawn skeleton) is the configuration of pawns
on the chessboard
. Since pawns are the least mobile of the chess pieces, the pawn structure is relatively static and thus largely determines the strategic nature of the position.
, doubled
or backward
pawns and holes, once created, are usually permanent. Care must therefore be taken to avoid them (but there are exceptions — for instance see Boleslavsky hole below). In the absence of these structural weaknesses, it is not possible to classify a pawn formation as good or bad — much depends on the positions of the pieces. However, the pawn formation does determine the overall strategies of the players to a large extent, even if arising from unrelated openings. Pawn formations symmetrical about a vertical line (such as the e5 Chain and the d5 Chain) can be deceptively similar, but they tend to have entirely different characteristics because of the propensity of the kings to castle
on the kingside.
Pawn structures often transpose into one another, such as the Isolani into the Hanging Pawns and vice versa. Such transpositions must be considered carefully and often mark shifts in game strategy.
, in his book Pawn Structure Chess, classifies the major pawn formations into 16 categories, discussed below. It is to be noted that for a formation to fall into a particular category, it need not have a pawn position identical to the corresponding diagram, but only close enough that the character of the game and the major themes are unchanged. It is typically the center pawns whose position influences the nature of the game the most.
Structures with mutually attacking pawns are said to have tension. They are ordinarily unstable and tend to transpose into a stable formation with a pawn push or exchange. Play often revolves around making the transposition happen under favorable circumstances. For instance, in the Queen's Gambit
Declined, Black waits until White develops the king's bishop to make the d5xc4 capture, transposing to the Slav formation (see below).
. Other: French
, Scandinavian, QGD
.
Character: Slow-paced game.
Themes for White: Outpost on e5, kingside space advantage, d4-d5 break, possibility of queenside majority in the endgame (typically after the exchange of White's d pawn for Black's c pawn).
Themes for Black: Weakness of the d4 pawn, c6-c5 and e6-e5 breaks. The latter break is usually preferable, but harder for Black to achieve.
, Grunfeld
, Colle system
(with colors reversed).
Character: Slow-paced game.
Themes for White: Pressure on the c file, weakness of Black's c pawn (either after Black's b7-b5 or after d4-d5xc6 in response to e6-e5), the d4-d5 break.
Themes for Black: e6-e5 and c6-c5 breaks.
(Najdorf
, Richter-Rauzer and Sozin variations), Sicilian Scheveningen
, and several other Sicilian variations.
Character: Complex, dynamic, sharp middlegame.
Themes for White: Pressure on the d file, space advantage, e4-e5 break (often prepared with f2-f4), f2-f4-f5 push, g2-g4-g5 blitz (see Keres attack).
Themes for Black: Pressure on the c file, minority attack (and counterplay in general) on the queenside, pressure on White's pawn on e4 or e5, d6-d5 break, e6-e5 transposing into the Boleslavsky hole (see below).
It is often unwise for White to exchange a piece on c6 allowing the recapture bxc6, because the phalanx of Black's center pawns becomes very strong.
Dragon
. Other: English Opening
(with colours reversed).
Character: Either a razor sharp middlegame with opposite side castling or a moderately sharp game with same side castling. The Sicilian Dragon requires a high level of opening memorization to play properly. This is especially true when it comes to the Yugoslav Attack in which White plays the moves Be3, f3, Qd2 and 0-0-0. Other variations are: The Classical Dragon where White plays Be2 and 0-0; The Tal attack is defined by Bc4 and 0-0, and the Fianchetto Defense where White plays g3, Bg2 and 0-0. These less common variations lead to less tactical positions, with a potentially technical endgame.
Themes for White: Outpost on d5, kingside attack (either f2-f4-f5 with kingside castling or h2-h4-h5) with queenside castling, weakness of Black's queenside minority (of pawns) in the endgame.
Themes for Black: Pressure on the long diagonal, queenside counterplay, exploiting White's often overextended kingside pawns in the endgame.
.
Character: Semi-open game.
Themes for White: Nd4-c2-e3, Fianchettoing one or both Bishops, the Maróczy hop (Nc3-d5 followed by e4xd5 with terrific pressure on the e-file), kingside attack, c4-c5 and e4-e5 breaks.
Themes for Black: b7-b5 break, f7-f5 break (especially with a fianchettoed King bishop), d6-d5 break (prepared with e7-e6).
The Maróczy bind, named after Géza Maróczy
, has a fearsome reputation. Chess masters once believed that allowing the bind as Black always gave White a significant advantage. Indeed, if Black does not quickly make a pawn break, his pieces will suffocate to death. Conversely, the formation takes time to set up and limits the activity of White's light-squared bishop, which can buy Black some breathing room to accomplish this break.
Najdorf
, Classical, Sveshnikov, Kalashnikov. Other: Sicilian O'Kelly (2... a6).
Character: Open, dynamic game.
Themes for White: taking control the d5 hole, exploiting the backward
d6 pawn, f2-f4 break.
Themes for Black: d6-d5 break, queenside minority attack, the c4 square.
It is a paradoxical idea that Black can strive for equality by voluntarily creating a hole on d5. The entire game revolves around control of the d5 square. Black must play very carefully or White will place a knight on d5 and obtain a commanding positional advantage. Black almost always equalizes, and might even obtain a slight edge, if the d6-d5 break can be made. Black has two options for his queen bishop: on e6 and on b7 (after a7-a6 and b7-b5). Unusually for an open formation, bishops become inferior to knights because of the overarching importance of d5: White will often exchange Bg5xf6, and Black usually prefers to give up his queen bishop rather than a knight in exchange for a white knight if it gets to d5.
When white castles
queenside, Black often delays castling because his king is quite safe in the center.
. Other – Benoni
, Ruy Lopez
(Spanish).
Character: Closed game with opposite side activity.
Themes for White: Massive queenside space advantage, c2-c4-c5 break (optionally prepared with b2-b4), prophylaxis
with g2-g4 (after f2-f3), f2-f4 break.
Themes for Black: kingside attack, f7-f5 break, g7-g5-g4 break (after f2-f3), c7-c6 break, prophylaxis with c6-c5 or c7-c5 transposing to a Full Benoni formation.
The chain arises from a variety of openings but most commonly in the heavily analyzed King's Indian Classical variation. The theme is a race for a breakthrough on opposite flanks – Black must try to whip up a kingside attack before White's heavy pieces penetrate with devastating effect on the c file. The position was thought to strongly favour White until a seminal game (Taimanov-Najdorf 1953) where Black introduced the maneuver Rf8-f7, Bg7-f8, Rf7-g7. When the chain arises in the Ruy Lopez, play is much slower with tempo being of little value and featuring piece maneuvering by both sides, Black focusing on the c7-c6 break and White often trying to play on the kingside with the f2-f4 break.
.
Character: Closed/semi-open but sharp game.
Themes for White: kingside mating attack, f2-f4-f5 break.
Themes for Black: Exchanging the hemmed-in QB, c7-c5 and f7-f6 breaks.
Due to White's kingside space advantage and development advantage, Black must generate counterplay or be mated. Novices often lose to the sparkling Greek gift sacrifice
. Attacking the head of the pawn chain with f7-f6 is seen as frequently as attacking its base, because it is harder for white to defend the head of the chain than in the d5 chain. In response to exf6, Black accepts a backward e6 pawn in exchange for freeing his position (the b8-h2 diagonal and the semi-open f-file) and the possibility of a further e6-e5 break. If White exchanges with d4xc5 it is called the Wedge formation. White gets an outpost on d4 and the possibility of exploiting the dark squares while Black gets an overextended e5 pawn to work on.
(colors reversed), Ruy Lopez
. Other: Ruy Lopez (colors reversed). The notation in the rest of this section refers to the colors reversed version.
Character: Semi-open game.
Themes for White: d6 weakness, c4-c5 push, a3-f8 diagonal, queenside pawn storm.
Themes for Black: d4 weakness, a1-h8 diagonal, f4 square, kingside attack, trading pieces for a superior endgame.
The Rauzer formation is named after Rauzer who introduced it in the Ruy Lopez. It can also rarely occur in the Ruy Lopez with colors reversed.
It is considered to give Black excellent chances because d6 is much less of a hole than White's d4. If the black king's bishop is fianchettoed it is common to see it undeveloped to f8 to control the vital c5 and d6 squares, or remove White's dark-squared bishop, the guardian of the hole.
The Rauzer formation is often misjudged by beginners. In the position on the left, White appears to have a development lead while Black's position appears to be riddled with holes. In reality, it is Black who stands clearly better, because White has no real way to improve his position while Black can improve by exploiting the d4 square (see complete game on Java (Applet) board).
, Pirc, Ruy Lopez
.
Character: Semi-open game, slow buildup.
Themes for White: exploitation of d6 weakness, e4-e5 and c4-c5 breaks, minority attack with b2-b4-b5.
Themes for Black: attacking the e4 and c4 pawns, d6-d5 and f7-f5 breaks, queenside play with a7-a5-a4.
The wall is yet another structure that leaves Black with a d-pawn weakness, but prevents White from taking control of the center and gives Black active piece play and an opportunity to play on either side of the board.
The Queen's Gambit – Isolani
Openings: Primary: Queen's Gambit
. Other: French
.
Character: Open game.
Themes for White: d4-d5 break, sacrifice of the isolani, outpost on e5, kingside attack.
Themes for Black: Blockading the isolani, trading pieces for a favorable endgame.
The isolani leads to lively play revolving around the d5 square. If Black can clamp down on the pawn, her positional strengths and threat of exchanges give her the advantage. If not, the threat of the d4-d5 break is ever present, and the isolani can sometimes be sacrificed to unleash the potential of White's pieces, enabling White to whip up a whirlwind attack. Kasparov
is famous for the speculative d4-d5 sacrifice.
Declined. Other: Queen's Indian Defense
.
Character: Open game.
Themes for White: Line opening advance in the center, kingside attack.
Themes for Black: Forcing a pawn advance and blockading the pair, conversion to isolani.
Like the isolani, the hanging pawns are a structural weakness and must not be entered into unless the piece position offers some compensation. The play revolves around Black trying to force one of the pawns to advance. If Black can establish a permanent blockade the game is positionally won. On the other hand, White aims to keep the pawns hanging, trying to generate a kingside attack leveraging off of their superior center control. Other themes for White include tactical possibilities and line opening breaks in the center.
Declined. Other: Caro-Kann (colors reversed).
Character: Semi-open game.
Themes for White: Minority attack, e3-e4 break.
Themes for Black: e4 outpost, kingside attack.
Declined, Caro-Kann. Other: Alekhine Defense, QGD Tarrasch Defense (colors reversed).
Character: Semi-open, dynamic game.
Themes for White: Exploiting the dark squares, queenside majority in the endgame, with an advanced pawn.
Themes for Black: e4 outpost, kingside attack, White's overextended pawn, e6-e5 and b7-b5 breaks.
, English
.
Character: Closed game, uncomplicated strategy.
Themes: Exchanging the bad bishop, e4/e5 outposts, breaks on the c and g files.
Players must carefully consider how to recapture on the e4/e5 square, since it alters the symmetric pawn formation and creates strategic subtleties. This structure also appears in one of Botvinnik's treatments of the English. Adding the typical White fianchetto of the king's bishop to this structure provides significant pressure along the long diagonal, and usually prepares the f2-f4-f5 break.
, Closed English
(colors reversed).
Character: Closed, complicated position.
Themes for White: kingside pawn storm, c2-c3 and d3-d4 break.
Themes for Black: queenside pawn storm, a1-h8 diagonal
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, the pawn structure (sometimes known as the pawn skeleton) is the configuration of pawns
Pawn (chess)
The pawn is the most numerous and weakest piece in the game of chess, historically representing infantry, or more particularly armed peasants or pikemen. Each player begins the game with eight pawns, one on each square of the rank immediately in front of the other pieces...
on the chessboard
Chessboard
A chessboard is the type of checkerboard used in the board game chess, and consists of 64 squares arranged in two alternating colors...
. Since pawns are the least mobile of the chess pieces, the pawn structure is relatively static and thus largely determines the strategic nature of the position.
General observations
Weaknesses in the pawn structure, such as isolatedIsolated pawn
In chess, an isolated pawn is a pawn which has no friendly pawn on an adjacent file. An isolated queen's pawn is often called an isolani. Isolated pawns are usually a weakness because they cannot be protected by other pawns...
, doubled
Doubled pawns
In chess, doubled pawns are two pawns of the same color residing on the same file. Pawns can become doubled only when one pawn captures onto a file on which another friendly pawn resides. In the diagram, the pawns on the b-file and e-file are doubled...
or backward
Backward pawn
In chess, a backward pawn is a pawn that is behind the pawns of the same color on the adjacent files and that cannot be advanced without loss of material, usually the backward pawn itself....
pawns and holes, once created, are usually permanent. Care must therefore be taken to avoid them (but there are exceptions — for instance see Boleslavsky hole below). In the absence of these structural weaknesses, it is not possible to classify a pawn formation as good or bad — much depends on the positions of the pieces. However, the pawn formation does determine the overall strategies of the players to a large extent, even if arising from unrelated openings. Pawn formations symmetrical about a vertical line (such as the e5 Chain and the d5 Chain) can be deceptively similar, but they tend to have entirely different characteristics because of the propensity of the kings to castle
Castling
Castling is a special move in the game of chess involving the king and either of the original rooks of the same color. It is the only move in chess in which a player moves two pieces at the same time. Castling consists of moving the king two squares towards a rook on the player's first rank, then...
on the kingside.
Pawn structures often transpose into one another, such as the Isolani into the Hanging Pawns and vice versa. Such transpositions must be considered carefully and often mark shifts in game strategy.
The major pawn formations
Andrew SoltisAndrew Soltis
Andrew Eden Soltis is a chess Grandmaster, author and columnist.He won at Reggio Emilia 1971–72 and was equal first at New York 1977. He was awarded the International Master title in 1974 and became a Grandmaster in 1980...
, in his book Pawn Structure Chess, classifies the major pawn formations into 16 categories, discussed below. It is to be noted that for a formation to fall into a particular category, it need not have a pawn position identical to the corresponding diagram, but only close enough that the character of the game and the major themes are unchanged. It is typically the center pawns whose position influences the nature of the game the most.
Structures with mutually attacking pawns are said to have tension. They are ordinarily unstable and tend to transpose into a stable formation with a pawn push or exchange. Play often revolves around making the transposition happen under favorable circumstances. For instance, in the Queen's Gambit
Queen's Gambit
The Queen's Gambit is a chess opening that starts with the moves:The Queen's Gambit is one of the oldest known chess openings. It was mentioned in the Göttingen manuscript of 1490 and was later analysed by masters such as Gioachino Greco in the seventeenth century...
Declined, Black waits until White develops the king's bishop to make the d5xc4 capture, transposing to the Slav formation (see below).
The Caro formation
Openings: Primary: Caro-KannCaro-Kann Defence
The Caro-Kann Defence is a chess opening —a common defense against the King's Pawn Opening characterised by the moves:The usual continuation isfollowed by 3.Nc3 , 3.Nd2 , 3.exd5 , or 3.e5 . The classical variation has gained much popularity...
. Other: French
French Defence
The French Defence is a chess opening. It is characterised by the moves:The French has a reputation for solidity and resilience, though it can result in a somewhat cramped game for Black in the early stages...
, Scandinavian, QGD
Queen's Gambit
The Queen's Gambit is a chess opening that starts with the moves:The Queen's Gambit is one of the oldest known chess openings. It was mentioned in the Göttingen manuscript of 1490 and was later analysed by masters such as Gioachino Greco in the seventeenth century...
.
Character: Slow-paced game.
Themes for White: Outpost on e5, kingside space advantage, d4-d5 break, possibility of queenside majority in the endgame (typically after the exchange of White's d pawn for Black's c pawn).
Themes for Black: Weakness of the d4 pawn, c6-c5 and e6-e5 breaks. The latter break is usually preferable, but harder for Black to achieve.
The Slav formation
Openings: Primary: Slav. Other: CatalanCatalan Opening
The Catalan is a chess opening which can be considered to be White adopting a mixture of the Queen's Gambit and Réti Opening: White plays d4 and c4 and fianchettoes the white bishop on g2. A common opening sequence is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2, though the opening can arise from a large number...
, Grunfeld
Grünfeld Defence
The Grünfeld Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The first instance of this opening is in an 1855 game by Moheschunder Bannerjee, an Indian player who had transitioned from Indian chess rules, playing black against John Cochrane in Calcutta, in May 1855: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4...
, Colle system
Colle System
The Colle System is a chess opening strategy for White introduced by Belgian Edgard Colle in the 1920s. Also known as the Colle–Koltanowski system, played frequently and further developed by George Koltanowski, this variation of the Queen's Pawn Game is characterised by a systematic if modest...
(with colors reversed).
Character: Slow-paced game.
Themes for White: Pressure on the c file, weakness of Black's c pawn (either after Black's b7-b5 or after d4-d5xc6 in response to e6-e5), the d4-d5 break.
Themes for Black: e6-e5 and c6-c5 breaks.
The Sicilian – Scheveningen
Openings: Primary: SicilianSicilian Defence
The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4...
(Najdorf
Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation
The Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defence is one of the most respected and deeply studied of all chess openings. Modern Chess Openings calls it the Cadillac or Rolls Royce of chess openings. The opening is named after the Polish-Argentinian Grandmaster Miguel Najdorf...
, Richter-Rauzer and Sozin variations), Sicilian Scheveningen
Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen Variation
In the opening of a game of chess, the Scheveningen Variation of the Sicilian Defence is one of Black's most ambitious lines in the Open Sicilian...
, and several other Sicilian variations.
Character: Complex, dynamic, sharp middlegame.
Themes for White: Pressure on the d file, space advantage, e4-e5 break (often prepared with f2-f4), f2-f4-f5 push, g2-g4-g5 blitz (see Keres attack).
Themes for Black: Pressure on the c file, minority attack (and counterplay in general) on the queenside, pressure on White's pawn on e4 or e5, d6-d5 break, e6-e5 transposing into the Boleslavsky hole (see below).
It is often unwise for White to exchange a piece on c6 allowing the recapture bxc6, because the phalanx of Black's center pawns becomes very strong.
The Sicilian – Dragon
Openings: Primary: SicilianSicilian Defence
The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4...
Dragon
Sicilian Defence, Dragon Variation
In chess, the Dragon Variation is one of the main lines of the Sicilian Defence and begins with the moves:The name "Dragon" was first coined by Russian chess master and amateur astronomer Fyodor Dus-Chotimirsky who noted the resemblance of Black's kingside pawn structure to the constellation...
. Other: English Opening
English Opening
In chess, the English Opening is the opening where White begins:A flank opening, it is the fourth most popular and, according to various databases, anywhere from one of the two most successful to the fourth most successful of White's twenty possible first moves. White begins the fight for the...
(with colours reversed).
Character: Either a razor sharp middlegame with opposite side castling or a moderately sharp game with same side castling. The Sicilian Dragon requires a high level of opening memorization to play properly. This is especially true when it comes to the Yugoslav Attack in which White plays the moves Be3, f3, Qd2 and 0-0-0. Other variations are: The Classical Dragon where White plays Be2 and 0-0; The Tal attack is defined by Bc4 and 0-0, and the Fianchetto Defense where White plays g3, Bg2 and 0-0. These less common variations lead to less tactical positions, with a potentially technical endgame.
Themes for White: Outpost on d5, kingside attack (either f2-f4-f5 with kingside castling or h2-h4-h5) with queenside castling, weakness of Black's queenside minority (of pawns) in the endgame.
Themes for Black: Pressure on the long diagonal, queenside counterplay, exploiting White's often overextended kingside pawns in the endgame.
The Sicilian – Maróczy bind
Openings: Primary: SicilianSicilian Defence
The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4...
.
Character: Semi-open game.
Themes for White: Nd4-c2-e3, Fianchettoing one or both Bishops, the Maróczy hop (Nc3-d5 followed by e4xd5 with terrific pressure on the e-file), kingside attack, c4-c5 and e4-e5 breaks.
Themes for Black: b7-b5 break, f7-f5 break (especially with a fianchettoed King bishop), d6-d5 break (prepared with e7-e6).
The Maróczy bind, named after Géza Maróczy
Géza Maróczy
Géza Maróczy was a leading Hungarian chess Grandmaster, one of the best players in the world in his time. He was also a practicing engineer.-Early career:...
, has a fearsome reputation. Chess masters once believed that allowing the bind as Black always gave White a significant advantage. Indeed, if Black does not quickly make a pawn break, his pieces will suffocate to death. Conversely, the formation takes time to set up and limits the activity of White's light-squared bishop, which can buy Black some breathing room to accomplish this break.
The Sicilian – Boleslavsky hole
Openings: Primary: SicilianSicilian Defence
The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4...
Najdorf
Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation
The Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defence is one of the most respected and deeply studied of all chess openings. Modern Chess Openings calls it the Cadillac or Rolls Royce of chess openings. The opening is named after the Polish-Argentinian Grandmaster Miguel Najdorf...
, Classical, Sveshnikov, Kalashnikov. Other: Sicilian O'Kelly (2... a6).
Character: Open, dynamic game.
Themes for White: taking control the d5 hole, exploiting the backward
Backward pawn
In chess, a backward pawn is a pawn that is behind the pawns of the same color on the adjacent files and that cannot be advanced without loss of material, usually the backward pawn itself....
d6 pawn, f2-f4 break.
Themes for Black: d6-d5 break, queenside minority attack, the c4 square.
It is a paradoxical idea that Black can strive for equality by voluntarily creating a hole on d5. The entire game revolves around control of the d5 square. Black must play very carefully or White will place a knight on d5 and obtain a commanding positional advantage. Black almost always equalizes, and might even obtain a slight edge, if the d6-d5 break can be made. Black has two options for his queen bishop: on e6 and on b7 (after a7-a6 and b7-b5). Unusually for an open formation, bishops become inferior to knights because of the overarching importance of d5: White will often exchange Bg5xf6, and Black usually prefers to give up his queen bishop rather than a knight in exchange for a white knight if it gets to d5.
When white castles
Castling
Castling is a special move in the game of chess involving the king and either of the original rooks of the same color. It is the only move in chess in which a player moves two pieces at the same time. Castling consists of moving the king two squares towards a rook on the player's first rank, then...
queenside, Black often delays castling because his king is quite safe in the center.
The d5 chain
Openings: Primary: King's IndianKing's Indian Defence
The King's Indian Defence is a common chess opening. It arises after the moves:Black intends to follow up with 3...Bg7 and 4...d6.The Grünfeld Defence arises when Black plays 3...d5 instead, and is considered a separate opening...
. Other – Benoni
Benoni Defense
The Benoni Defense is a group of chess openings generally characterized by the opening moves 1. d4 c5 2. d5, although Black's ...c5 and White's answer d5 are often delayed. The most usual opening sequence for the Benoni is 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5...
, Ruy Lopez
Ruy Lopez
The Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del...
(Spanish).
Character: Closed game with opposite side activity.
Themes for White: Massive queenside space advantage, c2-c4-c5 break (optionally prepared with b2-b4), prophylaxis
Prophylaxis (chess)
In the game of chess, prophylaxis or a prophylactic move is a move that stops the opponent from taking action in a certain area for fear of some type of reprisal. Prophylactic moves are aimed at not just improving one's position, but preventing the opponent from improving their own...
with g2-g4 (after f2-f3), f2-f4 break.
Themes for Black: kingside attack, f7-f5 break, g7-g5-g4 break (after f2-f3), c7-c6 break, prophylaxis with c6-c5 or c7-c5 transposing to a Full Benoni formation.
The chain arises from a variety of openings but most commonly in the heavily analyzed King's Indian Classical variation. The theme is a race for a breakthrough on opposite flanks – Black must try to whip up a kingside attack before White's heavy pieces penetrate with devastating effect on the c file. The position was thought to strongly favour White until a seminal game (Taimanov-Najdorf 1953) where Black introduced the maneuver Rf8-f7, Bg7-f8, Rf7-g7. When the chain arises in the Ruy Lopez, play is much slower with tempo being of little value and featuring piece maneuvering by both sides, Black focusing on the c7-c6 break and White often trying to play on the kingside with the f2-f4 break.
The e5 chain
Openings: Primary: FrenchFrench Defence
The French Defence is a chess opening. It is characterised by the moves:The French has a reputation for solidity and resilience, though it can result in a somewhat cramped game for Black in the early stages...
.
Character: Closed/semi-open but sharp game.
Themes for White: kingside mating attack, f2-f4-f5 break.
Themes for Black: Exchanging the hemmed-in QB, c7-c5 and f7-f6 breaks.
Due to White's kingside space advantage and development advantage, Black must generate counterplay or be mated. Novices often lose to the sparkling Greek gift sacrifice
Greek gift sacrifice
In chess, the Greek gift sacrifice or classical bishop sacrifice is a typical sacrifice of a bishop by White playing Bxh7+ or Black playing Bxh2+....
. Attacking the head of the pawn chain with f7-f6 is seen as frequently as attacking its base, because it is harder for white to defend the head of the chain than in the d5 chain. In response to exf6, Black accepts a backward e6 pawn in exchange for freeing his position (the b8-h2 diagonal and the semi-open f-file) and the possibility of a further e6-e5 break. If White exchanges with d4xc5 it is called the Wedge formation. White gets an outpost on d4 and the possibility of exploiting the dark squares while Black gets an overextended e5 pawn to work on.
The King's Indian – Rauzer formation
Openings: Primary: King's Indian, Old IndianOld Indian Defense
The Old Indian Defense is a chess opening defined by the moves:This opening is distinguished from the King's Indian Defense by Black developing his king's bishop on e7 rather than fianchettoing it at g7...
(colors reversed), Ruy Lopez
Ruy Lopez
The Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del...
. Other: Ruy Lopez (colors reversed). The notation in the rest of this section refers to the colors reversed version.
Character: Semi-open game.
Themes for White: d6 weakness, c4-c5 push, a3-f8 diagonal, queenside pawn storm.
Themes for Black: d4 weakness, a1-h8 diagonal, f4 square, kingside attack, trading pieces for a superior endgame.
The Rauzer formation is named after Rauzer who introduced it in the Ruy Lopez. It can also rarely occur in the Ruy Lopez with colors reversed.
It is considered to give Black excellent chances because d6 is much less of a hole than White's d4. If the black king's bishop is fianchettoed it is common to see it undeveloped to f8 to control the vital c5 and d6 squares, or remove White's dark-squared bishop, the guardian of the hole.
The Rauzer formation is often misjudged by beginners. In the position on the left, White appears to have a development lead while Black's position appears to be riddled with holes. In reality, it is Black who stands clearly better, because White has no real way to improve his position while Black can improve by exploiting the d4 square (see complete game on Java (Applet) board).
The King's Indian – Boleslavsky Wall
Openings: Primary: King's Indian. Other: EnglishEnglish Opening
In chess, the English Opening is the opening where White begins:A flank opening, it is the fourth most popular and, according to various databases, anywhere from one of the two most successful to the fourth most successful of White's twenty possible first moves. White begins the fight for the...
, Pirc, Ruy Lopez
Ruy Lopez
The Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del...
.
Character: Semi-open game, slow buildup.
Themes for White: exploitation of d6 weakness, e4-e5 and c4-c5 breaks, minority attack with b2-b4-b5.
Themes for Black: attacking the e4 and c4 pawns, d6-d5 and f7-f5 breaks, queenside play with a7-a5-a4.
The wall is yet another structure that leaves Black with a d-pawn weakness, but prevents White from taking control of the center and gives Black active piece play and an opportunity to play on either side of the board.
The Queen's Gambit – IsolaniIsolated pawnIn chess, an isolated pawn is a pawn which has no friendly pawn on an adjacent file. An isolated queen's pawn is often called an isolani. Isolated pawns are usually a weakness because they cannot be protected by other pawns...
Openings: Primary: Queen's GambitQueen's Gambit
The Queen's Gambit is a chess opening that starts with the moves:The Queen's Gambit is one of the oldest known chess openings. It was mentioned in the Göttingen manuscript of 1490 and was later analysed by masters such as Gioachino Greco in the seventeenth century...
. Other: French
French Defence
The French Defence is a chess opening. It is characterised by the moves:The French has a reputation for solidity and resilience, though it can result in a somewhat cramped game for Black in the early stages...
.
Character: Open game.
Themes for White: d4-d5 break, sacrifice of the isolani, outpost on e5, kingside attack.
Themes for Black: Blockading the isolani, trading pieces for a favorable endgame.
The isolani leads to lively play revolving around the d5 square. If Black can clamp down on the pawn, her positional strengths and threat of exchanges give her the advantage. If not, the threat of the d4-d5 break is ever present, and the isolani can sometimes be sacrificed to unleash the potential of White's pieces, enabling White to whip up a whirlwind attack. Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
is famous for the speculative d4-d5 sacrifice.
The Queen's Gambit – hanging pawns
Openings: Primary: Queen's GambitQueen's Gambit
The Queen's Gambit is a chess opening that starts with the moves:The Queen's Gambit is one of the oldest known chess openings. It was mentioned in the Göttingen manuscript of 1490 and was later analysed by masters such as Gioachino Greco in the seventeenth century...
Declined. Other: Queen's Indian Defense
Queen's Indian Defense
The Queen's Indian Defense is a chess opening defined by the movesBy playing 3.Nf3, White sidesteps the Nimzo-Indian Defense that arises after 3.Nc3 Bb4. The Queen's Indian is regarded as the sister opening of the Nimzo-Indian, since both openings aim to impede White's efforts to gain full control...
.
Character: Open game.
Themes for White: Line opening advance in the center, kingside attack.
Themes for Black: Forcing a pawn advance and blockading the pair, conversion to isolani.
Like the isolani, the hanging pawns are a structural weakness and must not be entered into unless the piece position offers some compensation. The play revolves around Black trying to force one of the pawns to advance. If Black can establish a permanent blockade the game is positionally won. On the other hand, White aims to keep the pawns hanging, trying to generate a kingside attack leveraging off of their superior center control. Other themes for White include tactical possibilities and line opening breaks in the center.
The Queen's Gambit – Orthodox Exchange
Openings: Primary: Queen's GambitQueen's Gambit
The Queen's Gambit is a chess opening that starts with the moves:The Queen's Gambit is one of the oldest known chess openings. It was mentioned in the Göttingen manuscript of 1490 and was later analysed by masters such as Gioachino Greco in the seventeenth century...
Declined. Other: Caro-Kann (colors reversed).
Character: Semi-open game.
Themes for White: Minority attack, e3-e4 break.
Themes for Black: e4 outpost, kingside attack.
The Panov formation
Openings: Primary: Queen's GambitQueen's Gambit
The Queen's Gambit is a chess opening that starts with the moves:The Queen's Gambit is one of the oldest known chess openings. It was mentioned in the Göttingen manuscript of 1490 and was later analysed by masters such as Gioachino Greco in the seventeenth century...
Declined, Caro-Kann. Other: Alekhine Defense, QGD Tarrasch Defense (colors reversed).
Character: Semi-open, dynamic game.
Themes for White: Exploiting the dark squares, queenside majority in the endgame, with an advanced pawn.
Themes for Black: e4 outpost, kingside attack, White's overextended pawn, e6-e5 and b7-b5 breaks.
The Stonewall formation
Openings: Primary: Dutch Defense. Other: Colle systemColle System
The Colle System is a chess opening strategy for White introduced by Belgian Edgard Colle in the 1920s. Also known as the Colle–Koltanowski system, played frequently and further developed by George Koltanowski, this variation of the Queen's Pawn Game is characterised by a systematic if modest...
, English
English Opening
In chess, the English Opening is the opening where White begins:A flank opening, it is the fourth most popular and, according to various databases, anywhere from one of the two most successful to the fourth most successful of White's twenty possible first moves. White begins the fight for the...
.
Character: Closed game, uncomplicated strategy.
Themes: Exchanging the bad bishop, e4/e5 outposts, breaks on the c and g files.
Players must carefully consider how to recapture on the e4/e5 square, since it alters the symmetric pawn formation and creates strategic subtleties. This structure also appears in one of Botvinnik's treatments of the English. Adding the typical White fianchetto of the king's bishop to this structure provides significant pressure along the long diagonal, and usually prepares the f2-f4-f5 break.
The Closed Sicilian formation
Openings: Primary: Closed SicilianSicilian Defence
The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4...
, Closed English
English Opening
In chess, the English Opening is the opening where White begins:A flank opening, it is the fourth most popular and, according to various databases, anywhere from one of the two most successful to the fourth most successful of White's twenty possible first moves. White begins the fight for the...
(colors reversed).
Character: Closed, complicated position.
Themes for White: kingside pawn storm, c2-c3 and d3-d4 break.
Themes for Black: queenside pawn storm, a1-h8 diagonal
See also
- Outline of chess: Pawn structure
- Chess terminologyChess terminologyThis page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. Some of these have their own pages, like fork and pin. For a list of unorthodox chess pieces, see fairy chess piece; for a list of terms specific to chess problems, see chess problem terminology; for a list of chess related...
- Isolated pawnIsolated pawnIn chess, an isolated pawn is a pawn which has no friendly pawn on an adjacent file. An isolated queen's pawn is often called an isolani. Isolated pawns are usually a weakness because they cannot be protected by other pawns...
- Doubled pawnsDoubled pawnsIn chess, doubled pawns are two pawns of the same color residing on the same file. Pawns can become doubled only when one pawn captures onto a file on which another friendly pawn resides. In the diagram, the pawns on the b-file and e-file are doubled...
- Backward pawnBackward pawnIn chess, a backward pawn is a pawn that is behind the pawns of the same color on the adjacent files and that cannot be advanced without loss of material, usually the backward pawn itself....
- Connected pawnsConnected pawnsIn chess, connected pawns are two or more pawns of the same color on adjacent files, as distinct from isolated pawns. These pawns are instrumental in creating pawn structure because, when diagonally adjacent, like the two rightmost white pawns, they form a pawn chain, a chain where the one behind...
- Chess strategy
- Hedgehog (chess)
Further reading
- Hans KmochHans KmochJohann "Hans" Joseph Kmoch was an Austrian-Dutch-American chess International Master , International Arbiter , and a chess journalist and author, for which he is best known....
, Pawn Power in Chess, 1959. 1990 Dover edition: ISBN 0-486-26486-6 (There are other editions).