Pawn (chess)
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king |
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lady |
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runner |
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Farmer |
The pawn ( Unicode : ♙ U + 2659, ♟ U + 265F, see Unicode block Different symbols ) is a piece of the game of chess . At the beginning of the game, each player has eight pawns who form a wall in front of the other chess pieces . Because of his limited possibilities of moving and capturing, the pawn is considered to be the weakest piece in chess. However, the importance of the farmer in the course of a chess game is getting higher, because of the opportunity when it reaches the opponent's home row in a stronger figure convert .
In contrast to the other figures, the pawn cannot move backwards or sideways, but only forwards; he also hits differently (obliquely forward) than he pulls. Due to these fundamental differences, in the traditional language of German-speaking chess players, the designation figure only refers to the other pieces. But both in the colloquial sense and in the official usage of the FIDE rules, the word figure is used to designate all chess pieces, including the pawns.
Moving opportunities and value
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Diagram 1 : The pawns' moves
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Diagram 2 : The white pawn on d5 can either capture the black rook on c6 or the black knight on e6.
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Diagram 3 : The en-passant hitting
- In the starting position, the pawn can either move one step forward if the target field is empty, or take a double step if the field in front of the pawn and the target field are empty.
- If the pawn is not in the starting position (2nd or 7th row), then he can only move one square forward (if he does not capture).
- The pawn captures diagonally: He may move to a space occupied by an opposing piece diagonally in front of him on an adjacent line by capturing the piece. (See diagram 2. ) The pawn is the only piece that hits in a direction other than the direction of move.
- The farmer can only move forward. It is the only token that cannot return to a field that has already been entered.
"En passant"
A special stroke of the pawn is the so-called en passant . See diagram 3 : After the black pawn has made a double step to c5 from the basic position and has actually left the threatened c6 square behind, the white pawn can capture c6 and take the black pawn away from c5. Hitting through en passant is only possible in the immediately following move.
The pawn conversion
When the pawn enters the opponent's back row (consisting of the squares on which the opponent's pieces are in the starting position), he must join a queen, rook, bishop or knight of the same color (after the free Player's choice). A transformation into something other than a lady is called a sub-transformation . The pawn is removed from the game and the new piece is placed on the corresponding space. The properties of the new figure take effect immediately , depending on the position z. B. lead to an immediate checkmate. The conversion does not depend on whether the selected piece has been captured in the course of the game. In this way, a player can get more copies of one type of figure than are available in the basic position. So it is always memorable when you get a third knight in a game, for example. Obviously, having only one set of figures available creates a problem. A second queen is therefore in practice - contrary to the rules - in this case mostly replaced by an upside-down rook. Usually the conversion to a queen takes place (conversion to a king is not allowed). This conversion option is the reason why the pawn can become stronger and stronger in the course of a game of chess - especially in the endgame .
value
It is common in chess to divide the value of the other pieces - queen, rook, bishop and knight into so-called pawn units, which are based on the value of a pawn. A pawn has the value of one pawn unit.
The deliberate abandonment of a pawn in order to get compensation through positional advantages is called pawn sacrifice . If this happens in the opening phase, it is also called a gambit .
Comparison with figures
In the usual expression in chess, the term “piece” only means knight, bishop, rook, queen and king, but not the pawn. The umbrella term for pawns and figures is "stone". The farmer differs from the figures in a number of special features:
- There are eight pawns, whereas each piece appears singly or twice.
- Pawns can only move forward. A pawn move can therefore never be reversed and changes the position permanently.
- Pawns hit differently than they move. This makes it very easy for farmers to be blocked. As soon as a stone is in front of him, the pawn cannot move until this stone is removed or there is an opportunity to capture.
- Because of the low mobility, pawns represent an obstacle for both your own and your opponent's pieces - with the exception of the knights, who can move over the pawns.
- Pawns are converted into a piece (almost always a queen) when they reach the opposing back row. Thus, the weakest stone can become the strongest, which makes it very important in the endgame.
The pawn in the three game phases
In the opening
Pawn moves in the opening play a major role in the strategic development of a game of chess. All other figures must first emerge from the pawn shield (except for the knights). Due to their large number, the farmers can control a large number of fields and displace more valuable opposing pieces. At the beginning of a game you strive to occupy as many central fields as possible with the pawns or at least to control them. This creates space for your own characters. The pawn structure is one of the most important strategic evaluation features of a position.
In the middle game
In the middle game , the pawns - depending on the opening type (closed, open) - usually only form individual pawn chains on the edge or center of the playing field or are only scattered as individual pawns. In this phase of the game the pawns are mostly passive and only cover other pieces or block some fields. Because of their short distance, they are less suitable for influencing the middle game, but the structure of the pawn determines what influence the other pieces have on the game and what plans are made for the further development of the game.
In the endgame
In the endgame , the pawns gain in importance. The fewer other pieces left, the more effective the pawns become. Their ability to transform themselves into other, more valuable pieces ( queen , rarely in rook , bishop or knight ) gives the pawn endgame its dynamic.
Pawn structures
With " pawn structure " refers to a position all farmers each other at certain points a game. One differentiates, for example, between open and closed pawn structures. Open positions are in principle suitable for long-stepping figures (bishop, rook, queen), while with a closed structure the knights can have advantages due to their special moves.
- Pawn chain : Several pawns in an incline are called a pawn chain, with the rear one covering the person in front. The furthest farmer in this chain is therefore more vulnerable. It is therefore easier toattack pawnchains at the base (rearmost pawn); under certain circumstances it is also useful toattackthe top (front pawn) with a lever . Nested pawn chains are characteristic of closed positions.
- Aries (expression by Hans Kmoch ): The smallest unit of two nested pawn chains; each a pair of pawns of opposite color who are directly opposite each other and block each other e.g. B. White d4, e5 Black d5, e6.
- Farmer Islands : A farmer island comprises one or more neighboring pawns of the same color and extends to the next line on which there is no pawn of that color.
On the other hand, the pawn structure also includes characteristics of a single, special pawn position:
- Passed pawn: A passed pawn is a pawn who has opposing pawns in front of him neither on his nor on the two adjoining neighboring lines and can no longer bestoppedby pawns on his way to conversion . Passed pawns are usually advantageous, as they can only be stopped by pieces and these pieces are bound by this task. Linked passed pawns , i.e. two or more passed pawns next to each other,are particularly strongbecause they can support each other on their way forward.
- Double pawns: Two pawns of the same color on the same line are called double pawns. Double pawns can often be a disadvantage, as one cannot cover the other and the pawn in front can block the pawn behind. The so-called triple and quadruple pawns (three or four pawns on a line) are less common.
- Isolated farmer or Isolani : An isolated farmer no longer has its own neighboring pawns and can therefore no longer be covered by them. The typical Isolani is also on a half-open (tower) line of the opponent. Isolated double pawns are considered particularly weak.
- Backward pawn : A pawn is backward when an opposing pawn on the neighboring line prevents it from advancing and its own pawns on the neighboring lines cannot cover the square to which it is supposed to advance because they are missing or have already been moved too far are. A backward farmer is weak. The field or the two fields in front of him are also weak if opposing figures can use it as a base. For this reason, one endeavors to occupy fields in front of the opponent's backward pawns with minor pieces. You can then control the opponent's position undisturbed by pawns.
- Hanging pawns : These are two pawns standing next to each other (mostly on c4 and d4 or, in the case of Black, on c5 / d5), on whose lines there are no opposing pawns, but which can no longer be covered by their own pawns on adjacent lines. They often arise from closed openings and have both advantages (control of important squares, space advantage) and disadvantages (easily attackable, a backward or isolated pawn can arise through an opposing lever).
Some of these pawn positions are often generally referred to as weak or disadvantageous pawn structures. However, this always depends on the circumstances of the respective lot position. For example, a single passed pawn (positive) is always also an Isolani (negative).
Others
- Edge builders or tower builders : The farmers on the a and h lines are called edge builders or tower builders. Marginal pawns are often safer in the endgame , as their conversion is more difficult. On the other hand, they can also be an advantage in the endgame, piece against pawn. Due to the narrow margins, there is a risk of stalemate in pawn endings or endgames with queens against (far advanced) marginal pawns if the king should be able to keep the conversion square occupied. In knight endings, marginal pawns can be an advantage, as they can only be stopped with difficulty by knights or the effect of a blocking knight is severely limited.
- Bishop pawns (c-pawn and f-pawn), knight pawns (b- and g-pawn): In the endgame there are sometimes bishop pawns (on the c and f lines) or knight pawns (on the b and g lines) for the defender's advantage if all attempts by the better-off party to prevent it from converting would lead to stalemate .
- Center pawns : The center pawns ( king pawns and queens pawns ) on the d and e lines are particularly advantageous in the opening, as they strengthen their own center (the squares d4, d5, e4, e5). Generally speaking, anyone who dominates the center in the opening is in a better position.
- Lever : A pawn move that attacks an opposing pawn and thus changes or threatens to change the pawn structure of the game.
- Poisoned pawn : "Poisoned" is the term used to describe a pawn that is sacrificed by a player in order to gain a positional ( speed ) or material advantage and whose capture is therefore a mistake. A well-known opening example is the pawn robbery variant .
history
In the Persian game the farmer was referred to as "Pyâdah" ("foot soldier") and represented as such.
literature
- Hans Kmoch : The Art of Farming Leadership . Rattmann, Hamburg 1998, ISBN 3-88086-070-X
