Hello people and welcome to my introduction on Isolated Queen's Pawn positions (or IQP system for short).
I will be posting more detailed stuff on this, but for now this is an overview to familiarise you with the general principles, plus a bit of history.
There has been some debate, both literally and across the board, regarding the IQP. The current state of thought is that white has an edge with the IQP. It is of relevance to this group mainly because it can virtually be forced on opponent playing the Caro-Kann defence.
So what do we mean when we say IQP? Well, the name is self explanatory but the ideas involved need a little explanation. Like I said, I will be posting more detailed information, so what follows is the basics. Look at the diagram, which shows a typical IQP pawn structure:
The first and most important point to note is this. If this position is reached in an endgame, black generally wins. The reason is that white has to protect the IQP with his king, allowing the black king into his position. Black will create a passed pawn on the kingside and when white defends the queening square, the IQP falls leaving black with a material advantage. A similar argument applies when some pieces are left on the board, such as a bishop and knight each.
We are told in general opening theory that it is bad to defend pawns with pieces. 'Pawns should be defended by other pawns'. Witness the importance given to pawn chains in books. So why would we want to get to the above position as white? Well, obviously we wouldn't as it stands, but there is an important factor to take into consideration - in the middle-game both sides have plenty of pieces left on the board. In this case, the attacking advantages of the IQP outweigh the disadvantages of the weak white pawn structure.
So now we should be heading towards an obvious, but essential conclusion. In IQP systems, white will try to launch a checkmate attack in the middle-game, while black will try to steer into an endgame. This is the crux of the matter.
White has both an objective and practical advantage. Objectively, white's assets are as follows:
1. More space
2. Attacking chances against the black king
3. The pawn's support for a knight outpost at e5
4. The potential pawn break d4-d5
Practically, white's advantage is that black has to often walk a tightrope of defence in order to reach the endgame. At our level, can you see your opponent making maybe 30+ moves accurately in a system that you know well to secure an endgame advantage? Incidentally, black has absolutely no right to attack in this system, so you can confidentally assume that if your opponent does attack, then it is a mistake and you should be able to find a winning continuation.
One final point in the basics. You will notice that it is white that has the IQP and may be wondering about IQP systems for black.
Here's a bit of chess history for you. Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch discovered the move 3. Nd2 for white in the French Defence in the late 1880's. This is now called the Tarrasch Variation of the French Defence (rather unsurprisingly). We can safely assume that his idea was to avoid the pin on the Queen's Knight by black playing Bb4 in the then popular MacCutcheon Variation. Tarrasch played his Nd2 move up to 1894. Suddenly, he realised that Black could obtain an isolated queen's pawn by playing 3. ... c5. He then dropped Nd2 from his repertoire completely. This shows how strongly Tarrasch considered the IQP as an advantage. However it is not now considered to be good for black. The reason it is good for white is because white has the extra advantage of the first move.
Ok. That's it for the introduction. More later.
oh! this is looking good so far, once the forum picks up speed I will for sure make some comments
very interesting topic!, if you have problems trying to post just let erik know, he is a member in the club and one of the main heads for chess.com
That quote button did the whole thing. Please explain what you mean by the following statement toward the end of the article.
"Incidentally, black has absolutely no right to attack in this system, so you can confidentally assume that if your opponent does attack, then it is a mistake and you should be able to find a winning continuation."
If the above is true, why would black do this to herself?
At what level does this matter? 1400? 1800? 2000?
I am counter attacking as black unless I am more convinced. An attack on the board is worth 5 in the book 30 moves away.
To hptchess. The point of the IQP system is that white is carrying the attack from the first few moves even more than white would do in general openings. Since white has the first move it is entirely normal for white to attack first. This doesnt mean to say that white has the right to attack whatever happens - it depends on the defensive moves that black makes. It is certainly a mistake for black to try to assume the role of attacker without good reason. Similar ideas hold for true gambits. There white gives up tangible material for the initiative and if the attack doesnt work it is normally curtains. In a way , the IQP system is a little bit like a mini gambit (and I know I am stretching the point here!) in that white accepts an inferior pawn structure for attacking chances. It appears that certain players actually like defending, hence their willingness to play stuff like the Old Benoni (the 'Daughter of Sorrow'). To an extent, you have to be able to defend well because you play black half the time!
I have a friend who is a very good player (good enough to draw with GMs in simuls). He plays the Caro-Kann as black and explained it to me like this: 'You spend the first 30 moves equalising, then wait for a mistake, then win in the endgame'. Boring but effective , and thats how it often is when you play black!
maxdplay4
I understand better what you are driving at.
Maybe it is my level of skill, but white or black I look at every move for the possiblity to make what amounts to two moves in one. If I can defend my piece and attack yours at the same time, as black I have just shifted the game to me on the attack and if white then black is running faster.
That is why this is bad for white:
White has staked a claim for the centre and challenged the Black King Pawn with d4. But after 2. ... ed 3. Qxd4 the Black QN comes to c6 with tempo. This develops a black minor piece and incidentally attacks the white Q which must move away. At this point, Black leads in development (by a Knight) and has the move after WQ goes wherever. So in a few moves the initiative has passed to black.
This example is so simple that, of course, white never plays 2.d4. However after a few moves you may get the chance to do something like it.
I am thinking that you should maybe examine tactical themes as it seems to me that is what you are getting at without being able to put your finger on it.
Tactical themes arise all through the game, from the first few moves to the very end. Tactics are the means to the end in chess. So tactics are most important. Dual purpose moves are the 'doing' moves of chess - its like you gain a move.
When you play for them, i.e. set them up moves in advance, it seems like child's play to play discoveries and so on, but you need to be aware of the possibilities first.
mxdplay4,
I believe you have gone a little too far in your post above, it seems to me that you are not all awared of chess theory and are rather trying to teach from your on personal practical experiences (no that there is anything wrong with it), remember that many of us might be awared of chess theory which might contradict with some of the things you are stating in your post, ex:
1.e4 e5 2.d4 is perfectely playable, in fact is called the center game, and the variation you give above although not considered best is as well playable, so I believe you should check main chess theory first when intending to post to the forums...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_Game
just a thought!
Hi, I guess this thread is a little old but here goes:
I am a USCF National Master and I have played the Caro-Kann almost my whole career against 1: e4. Of the many options available to white, the Panov-Botvinnik attack (e4 c6 d4 d5 exd5 cxd5 c4) is quite popular, and this is in fact what I play myself (when forced to play e4, e.g. in a current "Caro-Kann tournament" that I'm playing). But, I was discussing with mdxplay4 in a side conversation, that there are numerous transposition possibilities between this and more typical queen pawn openings. For example:
Caro-Kanne4 c6 d4 d5 exd5 cxd5 c4 Nf6 Nc3 e6 Nf3 Bb4 Bd3 dxc4 Bxc4 o-o o-o
Nimzo-Indiand4 Nf6 c4 e6 Nc3 Bb4 e3 o-o Nf3 d5 Bd3 c5 o-o cxd4 exd4 dxc4 Bxc4
QGDd4 d5 c4 e6 Nc3 c5 e3 Nf6 Nf3 cxd4 exd4 Bb4 Bd3 dxc4 Bxc4 o-o o-o
These all lead to the same final position. What I would describe as the main principle behind this IQP position is the d5 square. If white controls the square, then he has the advantage; if black controls it more effectively then he has the advantage. All else being equal, piece exchanges favor black. The reason that the d5 square is so important is this. If black controls it, he does not have to worry at all about white advancing this pawn, and black can either occupy this square, or more likely he can transfer slowly the attack to the d4 square (the pawn itself). If white however controls this square, then black can no longer consider the pawn to be a weakness, since white can always play d5 and exchange it off, often resulting in an advantage for white, or possibly a completely even endgame. Strategically it is much easier to play black's side when he controls this square, since there are far fewer pawn breaks for white.
One last note about the French Defense 3: Nd2 line. This is significantly different from the line given above, since the side playing against the IQP (white) still has a c pawn, whereas in the above example, it is black playing against the IQP, and black has the e pawn. The key difference has to do with the mobility of the queens bishop. I've always operated under the assumption that it is better to keep your c pawn than your e pawn when attacking the IQP, but this is just my opinion. :-)
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