Pawn structure
The pawn structure describes in chess , the position of the individual farmer to each other without consideration of other figures. The pawn structure is an essential aspect of position evaluation. Since pawns move more slowly than pieces, pawn structures often retain their character over longer phases in the game and thus often determine the long-term plans of both players. This brought Philidor by the well-known quotation expression:
"The pawns are the soul of the game of chess."
General classification
Open and closed pawn structures
Nordic Gambit (after 7 moves)
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After numerous pawn sacrifices and deceptions, numerous lines and diagonals have opened in this sharp opening variant after just seven moves.
Reti - Capablanca, 1928
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Pawn structure after White's 32nd and last move. The game ended in a draw.
Open positions are characterized by the fact that pawn deceptions open many lines and diagonals. A line is called open if there are no pawns on it. It is half- open if there is only one pawn of the opposing color on it. Closed lines have pawns of both colors. The mobility of queen, rook and bishop is greater, the more open the position is. Opening the position usually leads to more active puppet play. It is considered advantageous to occupy the open diagonals with your own bishops and the open lines with your own towers and thereby control them. A doubling of the tower is considered particularly strong . Pawns standing on half-open lines represent natural targets, especially if they are backward or isolated , i.e. if they are difficult or impossible to defend by their own pawns.
Typical openings that lead to an open pawn structure are e.g. B. the main variation of the Italian game with 5. d2 – d4, Scottish and Spanish as well as gambits .
Closed pawn structures offer little or no space between the pawns, often the structure is such that opposing pawns as well as their own pawns block each other and pawn deceit is therefore not possible. Therefore there are no free diagonals or lines. Often the figures are developed suboptimally or not at all due to the lack of space. The game is fixated on security and often very defensive. Rapid attacks are rare. The game is mostly characterized by a slow development of the characters, which is aimed at the accumulation of small advantages.
Typical openings that lead to a closed pawn structure are e.g. B. Modern Defense , some French and English variants and some variants of Indian openings .
Symmetrical and asymmetrical pawn structures
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Black has the majority of pawns on the queenside, white on the kingside.
One speaks of a symmetrical pawn structure when the positioning of the pawns in black and white is mirror-inverted or at least similar. Such positions arise z. B. often in the symmetrical variant of the English game or in the exchange variant of the French defense. In symmetrical pawn structures, it is often difficult to create weaknesses in the opposing position and thereby gain an advantage. That is why symmetrical positions among strong players often tend to draw.
In asymmetrical positions, a player often has a majority of pawns in one half of the board. If the material is equal, his opponent then has the majority of the pawns on the other wing. In the middle game, an attack is often more promising in the half of the board, where the attacker has the majority of the pawns. Such a majority attack either has the goal of creating a passed pawn or is directed against the pawns who are protecting the opposing king. However, this rule does not apply without exception: If a player has the majority of pawns on the queenside, his opponent can try to undermine the pawn structure with a minority attack. This means that he creates weaknesses in the opposing pawn structure through targeted pawn advances (e.g. isolated pawns, double pawns, etc.) and thus makes the majority of pawns worthless or even eliminates them.
There are also half-open lines for both players in asymmetrical positions. These represent the natural development fields for the towers, as they can target opposing farmers directly here.
In the endgame, a pawn majority on the queenside is more advantageous if both players cast a short cast. If a passed pawn is formed there, it is more difficult for the defending king to reach and stop.
Special structures
Peasant phalanx
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A white peasant phalanx controlling the spaces marked with ×.
It is most advantageous to arrange pawns in the form of a phalanx. This means that the pawns stand next to each other on the same row. This enables them to control all fields in front of them and also the two adjacent fields. If necessary, a farmer can advance out of the phalanx and is automatically covered by his neighbors. A chain of farmers is then created.
Peasant chain
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Typical pawn structure in the advance variant of the French Defense: The white pawn chain b2 – c3 – d4 – e5 and the black pawn chain f7 – e6 – d5 – c4 block each other.
A pawn chain is a group of pawns in which all pawns involved cover each other because they are on neighboring squares on the same diagonal. Chains of pawns massively restrict the opponent's freedom of movement, as all pawns attack fields of the same color and so often take all fields from one of the bishops. Long chains of pawns appear very often in the French Defense , where the white pawns are on the squares b2, c3, d4 and e5 or, in the case of the opponent, on f7, e6 and d5, in some cases also on c4 (see diagram). In that case, closed positions arise in the French defense.
The pawn that is closest to your own back row is called the base (in diagram b2 or f7). The pawn that has advanced the furthest is called the tip (e5 or c4). The base is the only uncovered pawn in a pawn chain. According to Nimzowitsch , peasant chains should therefore always be attacked there. Since this is difficult for the opponent to reach due to the great distance to their own pawns, according to the more recent opinion one often tries to attack the pawn chain in front. This weakens your own pawn chain, but achieves a more active piece game.
In the diagram position, for example, Black's pawn advance f7 – f6 is an option. It is true that after the swap, the black pawn e6 is behind. But by controlling the f6-square and opening the f-file, Black gets development opportunities on the kingside that were previously virtually completely blocked by the pawn chains.
Stonewall
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Two stone walls face each other.
A special formation related to the pawn chain is a group of three pawns arranged as shown in the diagram. These very often arise in different opening systems, e.g. B. English or Dutch. Since the base (the middle pawn) can hardly be reached by the opponent, the stonewall is a very permanent pawn formation.
Double builders and triple builders
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A white double pawn on the c-file and a black triple pawn on the f-file
In many games it happens that two pawns of the same color are to be found on the same line, often on immediately adjacent rows, after certain stroke developments. Then one speaks of a double pawn or, with three pawns, of a triple pawn . Since doubles pawns cannot cover each other and are restricted in their forward movement, they are often a disadvantage for the position of the player concerned.
In many cases, double peasants are also accepted if there is another advantage in their formation. In the Nimzo-Indian Defense , Black often exchanges his bishop for the Nc3, which creates the double pawn c3 / c4. White is not unhappy about this, because on the one hand he receives the pair of bishops and on the other hand c3 influences the important d4 square. In the Berlin variant of the Spanish game , the opposite applies to Black. Here Black even deliberately hits “out of the center ” with d7xc6 in order to open a bishop's diagonal and the d-file at the same time.
Passed pawn
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White has a passed pawn on a5. The black pawn on d3 is also a passed pawn because it cannot be stopped by e3. f4 is not a passed pawn because on its way to the opposing back row it could still be captured by the black g-pawn.
A pawn is a pawn in are on the line and the two adjacent lines no opponent's pawn which block the farmer on his way possible to convert or might suggest. The opponent must therefore use pieces to prevent the passed pawn from advancing and ultimately from converting. These pieces are thereby distracted from other tasks, which is a great advantage for the party with the passed pawn.
The further the game progresses, the greater the importance of the passed pawns. The endgame can often only be won if a passed pawn is formed and the opponent cannot prevent the conversion at all or can only prevent it by sacrificing material. This is why passed pawns are particularly valuable in pawn endings when they are far away from the opposing king and close to his back row.
The defense against the passed pawn consists first of all in preventing him from advancing with a blockade figure. Only then is the passed pawn attacked by pieces. For both players (both with and against the passed pawn) it is advisable to place the rooks behind the passed pawns instead of in front of the passed pawns. One player does not want to place his rook in front of his own passed pawn in order not to stand in the way of his advance. The other wants to avoid the rook being deprived of the rook's ability to move by the advancing passed pawn.
Isolated farmer
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The two pawns on a2 and e4 are isolated because there is no pawn of the same suit on the respective neighboring lines. e4 appears to be particularly vulnerable because it is also on a half-open line. All other farmers are related farmers.
An isolated pawn, often also called Isolani, is a pawn who is on a line that is followed by lines on the right and left that do not have their own pawn. It is easy to attack and difficult to protect, as its own pawns cannot defend it. So he ties his own pieces, which ultimately worsens the position.
The isolated queen's pawn plays an ambivalent role (d4 for white or d5 for black), as it occurs in numerous opening systems. It does have the weaknesses already mentioned. However, these are partially compensated by the fact that the player with the Isolani mostly controls the squares c5 and e5 (or c4 and e4 in the case of Black), can exert pressure via the half-open e-file, has a certain space advantage and his pieces are lighter can develop. Whether the isolated women's pawn is an advantage or a disadvantage is controversial and ultimately depends on the specific position.
Hanging pawns
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The pawn pair c4 / d4 stands on half-open lines and is isolated from the rest of the pawns. They are "hanging pawns".
The hanging pawns are not quite as weak as a single isolated pawn, although they are connected to one another but separated from the other pawns of the same color. You stand on half-open lines. If they are attacked from the side by opposing pawns, they are often further weakened because isolated or backward pawns emerge. But they also have advantages. If they are right next to each other as in the diagram, then they control many important central areas. Hanging pawns are created in numerous opening systems, e.g. B. in some variants of the Queen's Gambit , for both white and black.
Backward farmer
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Bd3 is lagging behind because it cannot advance to d4 or d5 to get support from the e-pawn. In principle, the same applies to Be5, even if it is not as weak as Bd3, since it cannot be attacked so easily by opposing pieces.
A pawn is lagging behind if its neighboring pawns are positioned further up front and can therefore no longer cover it. The backward pawn is prevented from moving forward because the field in front of him is controlled by the opponent. The effects generally correspond to those of an isolated farmer. The field immediately in front of a backward pawn is often an excellent outpost field for an opposing knight.
Karlovy Vary structure
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The Karlovy Vary structure
This structure was first mentioned to a significant extent at the chess tournament in Karlsbad in 1923. Many players wanted to avoid the Cambridge Springs variant of the Queen's Gambit and therefore played 6. c4xd5 e6xd5, which leads to the Karlovy Vary structure. However, it can also result from other openings, including Grünfeld-Indian , Nimzo-Indian or Caro-Kann with interchanged colors . Possible attack plans are the minority attack , that is, the advance with the a- and b-pawn, the breakthrough in the center with e3 – e4 or an attack on the opposing king on the kingside.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Chess History , accessed April 2, 2017
- ↑ Karpow, Mazukewitsch: Position assessment and plan. Edition Olms, Zurich 2007, p. 59 f.