Pawn Importance II: The Sequel

Introduction to Strong and Weak Pawns

Ah, pawns. The most humble pieces on the board...

...or so it seems.

Pawns may not have the power and mobility of the other pieces, but they have a lot of potential and influence. Pawns can make or break a position, depending on how they are placed and how they are moved.

A strong pawn is one that is well supported by other pawns or pieces, and controls important squares on the board. A strong pawn can be a great asset for the player who owns it, as it can create threats and open lines.

A weak pawn is one that is difficult to defend and easy to attack by the opponent. A weak pawn has no friendly pawns to protect it. A weak pawn can and probably will create weaknesses, such as making your other pawns easy targets.

The importance of strong and weak pawns in chess cannot be overstated. They determine the pawn structure. The pawn structure affects the mobility and activity of the pieces, the space, control of the board, and reveals the plans and strategies of both players.

Having strong pawns can give you an advantage in any phase of the game, even if it's 11pm and you are relying on green tea to stay awake. On the other hand, having weak pawns can put you at a disadvantage. Pay attention to your pawns!

As well as making your pawns as strong as possible while avoiding weak pawns, you want to try to make your opponents pawns weak.

Here is a live game I played, featuring strong and weak pawns:

Pawn Chains

Pawn chains, What are they? Well, the answer is pretty simple. Pawn chains occur when you have a group of pawns chained together:

Pawn chains are considered to be extremely helpful because the pawns will protect each-other while controlling a ton of space. If you hold your position correctly, you can have a massive advantage.

There are different types of pawn chains, depending on how they are formed and where they are located on the board.

Here are some openings I chose that usually have awesome pawn chains, you should check them out:

• The King’s Indian Defence
• The Sicilian Grand Prix
• The Torre Attack

Are pawn chains indestructible? Well, no. There are two main ways that you can destroy a pawn chain.

The first is attacking the base of the pawn chain. In a pawn chain, all pawns but one of the are protected. The base pawn needs to be defended by other pieces or pawns, or it will become an E-Z target:

As you can see in the chess board above, black's rook attacks the end of the pawn chain as white has no way to protect it.

The other way of taking down pawn chains is to make a pawn break:

Pawn Breaks

What is a pawn break? Pawn breakthroughs are used to create a passed pawn for that vital moment that you need to win a game.

Here is an example for creating a pawn break:

Let's say that you are in a position where you are up a pawn and all the other pieces are missing. A good start is to find a pawn that doesn't have another pawn directly in front of it, such as the f5 pawn here:

To continue your pawn break you have to sacrifice the pawn on the opposite side:

Now your opponent has two options, they can either take the pawn or advance the pawn. Both ways will still result in a passed pawn for white.

Now, sometimes, the king is near. You will have to switch it up a little bit in order to win:

Doubled/Tripled Pawns

We have a lot of pawn types to cover, so we will jump ahead to doubled and tripled pawns.

Doubled and tripled pawns are often considered a weakness in chess, as they are less mobile, less able to defend each other, and more vulnerable to attacks:

However, as pawns have importance, doubled and tripled pawns actually have some hidden strengths, often overlooked by opponents. I was able to find some advantages of having doubled and tripled pawns:

• They can create confusion and chaos on the board
• They can make the position more complex and difficult to evaluate
• They can even act as a decoy or a distraction, drawing the enemy’s attention away from real threats
• They can sometimes create open files for the rooks, or open diagonals for the bishops
• They can be used as a battering ram to break through the enemy’s defences, or as a sacrifice to gain time or space
• In some cases, they can even become passed pawns and promote to a queen or another piece

As you can see, doubled and tripled pawns are, surprisingly, not always bad. They can have some positive aspects that can be shown off by a clever and creative player. -wink wink-

Of course, this does not mean that one should deliberately create doubled or tripled pawns without a good reason. But it does mean that one should not be afraid of them.

Center Pawns

What is a center pawn?  Center pawns control the most important squares on the board, they support your pieces, limit your opponent’s options, and they create space for your own maneuvers, especially during the opening.

Since pawns have the option to move two squares forward on their first move, they can quickly establish a presence in the center of the board:

Center pawns are useful because they give mobility and flexibility. Center pawns restrict your opponent’s activity and counterplay.

You can use your center pawns to launch powerful attacks on your opponent’s king or other targets, or you can even use center pawns to defend your own king or other weak points.

Center pawns is another great example of how pawns control the outcome of the game.

En Passant

En passant is one of the most mysterious and confusing rules in chess. It is also one of the most satisfying and hilarious ways to capture an enemy pawn. 

En passant is a special move. It takes place when you capture an enemy pawn that just moved two squares from its starting square:

This special pawn move was created to stop the situation where a passed pawn was created and nobody liked it.

If you are new to chess, it looks very funny.

I like to quote about en passant from Alex,

"I have had many a game where I en passant and my opponent yells at me for the next 20 minutes cause they think i'm a hacker."

Here, the black pawn captures diagonally to the square that the other pawn passed over, removing it from the board:

After black "en passants" he stops the other passed pawn while creating his own. 

En passant does not happen very often in chess games, but when it does, it can be very powerful and surprising. It can create a passed pawn, open a file for a rook, or even improve the pawn structure.

En passant is great to those who know how to use it.

Isolated Pawns

Have you ever felt lonely? Have you ever wished you had someone to support you, to protect you, share your joys and sorrows? If so, then you have just discovered an isolated pawn.

An isolated pawn is a lone wolf, separated from its pack, wandering in the wilderness. It has no friends, no allies, no companions. It is vulnerable to attacks from all sides, and it has no army to defend it:

An isolated pawn is usually considered a weakness in chess, because it can be easily targeted by the opponent’s pieces. The square in front of the pawn may become a good outpost for the enemy to anchor their knights or bishops.

Even still, an isolated pawn can actually be a strength in chess, because it can control important central and adjacent squares, or more importantly, it can become a passed pawn!

Even though an isolated pawn is weak, it should be taken seriously and not ignored. At this point in the blog we have realized how important pawns are. An isolated pawn is still a pawn.

Remember, an isolated pawn is not alone. It has you.

Backwards Pawns

Many chess players consider backwards pawns to be a weakness.

What is a backwards pawn? A backwards pawn is a pawn that protects another pawn, while itself is not protected:

Usually a backwards pawn means having a bad position. Backwards pawns are weak, so they are great targets for your opponent.

Even then, backwards pawns have a few advantages.

Backwards pawns can open lines. A backwards pawn can open files and diagonals for the rooks or bishops. If a backwards pawn can be advanced, it can create threats and gain space, while exposing the enemy’s weaknesses and vulnerabilities. 

Passed Pawns

Now for passed pawns. What are they? A passed pawn is a pawn that has no enemy pawns to attack it from the sides:

This means that the pawn is free to inch forward towards a promotion!

Creating passed pawns can be hard. It is a very annoying concept in endgame knowledge because it is tricky to remember. 

In both lines in the diagram the pawn becomes passed and white wins! However, this is with two pawns which is moderately simple.

Now, let's demonstrate with three pawns:

Now your opponent has to worry about your passed pawn becoming a new queen or another powerful piece.

A passed pawn can also create tactical opportunities, such as forks, skewers, or pins, by attacking or defending key squares. A passed pawn can also distract the enemy pieces from other important areas of the board, or force them to take action in order to stop it:

Passed pawns create space. A passed pawn can advance far into the enemy territory, where it can control important squares and limit the mobility of the opponent’s pieces.

Passed pawns are the stars of chess. They are the ones who make history and leave a legacy behind.

Promotions

Now that you have your passed pawn, get ready for a-

Why was the passed pawn not working properly on his job? That's because he was about to get promoted!

A promotion is when a pawn reaches the other end of the board. Sort of like when you play checkers and promote to a king. But instead, you can promote to anything you want! (apart from a king, sorry I did not have any other example outside of checkers)

So, you can promote your passed pawn to a queen, rook, bishop, or even a unicorn*!

*I'm sorry, knight

Almost always you want to promote to a queen because it's the most powerful piece.

However, sometimes you want to "underpromote":

In this position white is winning. But white has a choice, What do they promote to? The correct answer is actually a knight!

But what would happen if white promoted to a queen? Is that still winning for white?

No! This becomes a draw.

Either way, pawn promotions still allow players to transform their humble pawns into mighty pieces that can change the course of the game.

Pawn promotions is considerably the most important pawn move in chess.

Conclusion and Further Mentions

My friends and followers, I can not enhance it enough. PAWNS ARE, IMPORTANT! I hope that this post gave you some insights into why pawns are a very important part of chess. Never underestimate your pawns, and pay attention to them!

Next time you find a friend or opponent who doubts the power of pawns, make sure that you send them a link to this blog!

A huge special thank you to the following users for giving me feedback and supporting me throughout the creation of this blog:

@MeercatsforMayor (Alex)

@Tactical_Masters

@1stPrize

Thank you for your time and for reading this. It is much appreciated!

If you spotted an error in this post such as a typo, or perhaps you found something that could be improved further, don't be afraid to reach out and send a private message to me, @Admiral_ChessBeard!

Until next time, keep playing chess and having fun!

Your friendly chess nerd,

Ray G. Scout