Roaring Pawns Adventures (Episode 2)
DISCLAIMER: RoaringPawn is NOT a chesscom's top blogger. Which gives more freedom and room for him to express unorthodox moves chesscom may not like. Read at your own risk.
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Hey chess folks!
My main purpose today is to gain recognition for my humble and lowly fellow Pawns.
You are all well aware that good play of us pawns is indispensable for you to have good results at the board.
If you think about it, without us Pawns, chess would be an all-tactics game. Imagine for a moment the starting position with no infantry. What you may expect to see? Well, chessmen would annihilate each others in the course of ten moves or so and the game would end real quick.
With us, it is a completely different game. A noble game of Strategy. Now, here is an unorthodox, too strong an opinion from, um, one of them, that is me. I really don't want to sound subjective here, but, without us, there would be no strategy in chess, at all. Strategy IS essentially and inescapably related to us, that is the Pawn formation that we are creating in Space and Time. Figuratively speaking, “Strategy is Pawn play; every pawn movement carries a strategic character; when last pawn is removed from the board, while there's still calculation and planning, there's no more strategy, only tactics is left,” GM Igor Zaitsev, Attack at Strong Point, Moscow 2004. Спасибо гроссмейстер Зайцев! Thank you Grandmaster Zaitsev!
It may sound trite to repeat that old adage, "Nous pions, nous sommes l'âme des echecs." But that French composer who at the age of 6 joined the royal choir of Louis XV and whose interest for chess was awoken when other singers, while waiting for the king to arrive, played chess to relieve their boredom, also said (smart guy), it's us Pawns alone who determine attack and defense, and that the winning or losing depended entirely on our good or bad mood, erm, disposition, or arrangement. Merci beaucoup, Monsier le Compositeur! nous l'apprécions vraiment. Nous sommes très heureux que vous appréciez notre "petite" contribution au jeu d'echecs.
Yet, what do we see? Heroic deeds and efforts of my fellow Pawns are almost always forgotten. Many a player look down at us as if we were merely material to be expended, wasted in chess wars. How wrong!
That's why I am going to start a series on Our Chess Adventures here today, for you to see how important our role is in influencing the character and vitality of our noble game.
Hope you would enjoy our risky and exciting ventures!
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PAWN ADVENTURES
THERE would be no chess without humble and courageous pawns and their heroic sacrifices in chess battles everywhere.
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The Sacred Work of Pawns
For starters, the pawns, supported by friendly units behind them, are used to create strong points in the center early in the opening. The central pawn structure and well-protected strongholds guard important squares and generally prevent the other warring side from expanding and conquering your territory. The solid pawn set-up in the center restricts the enemy actions and reduces fighting potential of the opposing army overall by imposing restraint on them (there is a law that anything which is fixed and immobile tends to grow weak).
This follows the main strategic principle of any conflict: Put the brake on the enemy, use restraint whenever possible while aiming to generate greater freedom of action and movement for your pieces. And how can you do that? By advancing your pawns which creates room for maneuver for your men regrouping behind and preparing for the upcoming battle. The more space you make by forcing your infantry, the more active and mobile become your fighting units. As you know from here, mobility and and maneuverability are one of the central principles of warfare.
© Samuel Bak
Samuel Bak, Pawns E and F
I remain deeply indebted to Samuel Bak for his fascinating chess art collection. By the way, the E-pawn rightly deserves to be put on the pedestal for his genuine greatness shown in the chess battle below
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For these reasons it is important for your pawn formation to remain mobile, possibly in the center and on the wings. With a mobile center you create ground for the next stage of the battle — moving your troops forward by breaking through in the center. Sometimes, this thrust is supported by pieces, other times the pawns simply sacrifice themselves for a higher aim.
The breakthrough in the center achieves several objectives: pawns clear communications and open lines for rooks and bishops situated behind which up to this point have been restricted by their own infantry. This is also a preparation for the invasion into the enemy camp.
At the same time, the pawns, having vacated the central squares, enable the slow-moving cavalry to occupy important strategic outposts and join the attack.
On top of everything, by crossing the middle-line, attacking pawns drive back enemy units and disrupt their coordination (breaking the enemy’s lines of communications is the second principle of warfare by the venerable strategist Sun Tzu, On War, c. 500 B.C.).
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No pawns, no chess!
For all these achievements your foot soldiers should be revered. You should “therefore come to realize that the main actors in the game of chess are the pawns. The pieces without pawns on the board would not battle for long. Were it not for the pawns, there would be no game. You and I would not have played chess: without pawns, how can there be any strategy, any creative, far-reaching plans, any defensive fortifications or mobile pawn ranks for offensive aims!”
“And this is only the very minimum of that for which pawns exist in chess, and the minimum of those tasks which you and I must resolve, before deciding which pawn to move when and where.” — David Bronstein, The modern chess self-tutor, Cadogan Chess 1995.
Hey, too much talk here! Yet, this is so important if you want to improve in chess. Let’s examine a game (Pilnik – Geller, Gothenburg 1955) to see what marvelous things pawns can do for you and your pieces. The commentary by A. Sokolsky, from his Pawns in motion, Moscow, 1962 (just checked online, there is the English translation Pawns in action, publisher The chess player, 1976).
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Pilnik-Geller, Gothenburg 1955 (after 22.f3)
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Black has better chances: he is a pawn up in the center and has a mobile pawn mass on the K-side (meanwhile, White cannot easily make use of his pawn majority on the Q-side).
What plan may Black work out here? Should he play f5-f4 and then force the g-pawn to open lines on the K-side where he has the space advantage?
Of course not! The advance f5-f4 would make white squares weak and reduce the scope of the dark-squared bishop. This will devalue the structural advantage Black’s pawn formation possess. White would respond with Be4 and block the e-pawn.
The general set-up in this position calls for the advance e5-e4 which opens way for the K-bishop and, importantly, by vacating the central e5-square, this push will secure a magnificent post for the knight. If Black wants to make preparations for this breakthrough (by playing Qe7 and Rae8), Black can respond with Re1. However, the a4-pawn is under pressure and the solution should be quick.
22…e4!! 23.Bxf6 Qxf6 24.fxe4 f4 25.Rf2 Ne5
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Position after 25...Ne5
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The results of the positional pawn sacrifice are now quite evident. The knight occupies an ideal post, while the bishop is restricted by its friendly pawns. With his pawns superiority on the K-side, Black can launch a pawn offensive there. The extra e4-pawn is securely blocked having only harmful effect as the bishop is suffocated behind the pawn wall. White has no counterplay!
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LONG LIVE THE PAWNS!
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[the original RoaringPawn's guest post was published on Feb 28, 2012 on the American NM William Stewart's site, now iChess net]
