Facing the big pawn push

In a previous article we saw some examples of attacks against the king that ran very smoothly, without virtually any risk for the player on the offensive. Of course, not all attacking efforts can be carried out like that, and some of them entail a greater degree of risk than others.

That is the case when the attack is launched by moving our wing pawns forward, especially if they are the ones in front of our king. The pawn formation is a rather permanent feature of the position, so the weaknesses left by the advance of the pawns are very difficult to repair. 

A pawn storm can be a powerful attacking device, of course, since it allows to grab a lot of space and gives the opportunity to open lines. Many great games have been won this way. But it also implies a certain positional risk. If the attack fails, we are probably going to be left with many weak pawns and squares to worry about. And, unless our king is castled on the opposite wing of the pawn storm, he will suffer too.

On the other side of the pawn storm, as defenders, we should always be on the lookout for the possibility of opening the centre by means of a well-timed pawn break. If successful, the advanced pawns could quickly become a weakness rather than an asset. This theme is well illustrated in the next games:

In all the games above, white couldn´t keep the central position under control, and his advanced pawns on the kingside ended up being a liability.

In the next article, we shall take a look at games in which the pawns are advanced under the right set of conditions, to understand what are the requisites to launch a successful attack by means of lateral pawn advances. Don´t miss it!