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Piece Value Series #1-Pawns

Piece Value Series #1-Pawns

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Everyone knows a pawn is worth one point, but is it really true? We also know a pawn on the 6th rank is worth about 3 points, but why is that? What was the real difference? In the post I will discuss how we evaluate pawns and how to use them, I will cover the following topics:

1. Structure

2. Pawn breaks/storms

3. Promotion

1. Structure:

Take a look at the following diagram:

Not any trouble, obviously, we can observe white has a better structure, Black's pawns are more split up, some of them are doubled. White, has a Pawn chain, they protect each other.
Now, I want to emphasize how powerless split pawns' are:
Ok, but what if I change the position a little bit?
I moved the pawn on b7 to f5, it might be a small change, but white instantly felt lots of pressure. Pawns must work together. 

2.1.Types of Structures:

A)Double Pawns

B)Isolated Pawn

C)Backwards Pawn

Obviously, there are many more, but I simply can't cover such a large topic, I decided to give the reader a good amount of ideas.

A) Doubled Pawns:

Here, we can see that the whites' pawns are in front of each other, therefore, limiting its mobility.
A good strategy is to attack the "front" pawn, because it is harder for white to defend 
Sometimes, double pawns can be beneficial:
Of course, The c3 and c4 pawns controls the black knight, and support its own.
B) Isolated Pawn:
We can see that White's d4-pawn isn't protected by White's other pawns, this can become a target for the black pieces.
C) Backwards Pawn:
This type of pawn structure often appear in the Sicilian:
One thing to know about backwards pawn is they can't move, so its a weakness forever. Although backwards pawn seems bad, but once it advances it can create problems:

 2. Pawn Breaks/Storms:
We all know when we're attacking we should use pawns, especially in opposite side castling. Pawn Storms are used to open up files for your heavy pieces. Sometimes, it is used to to break up enemy structures. Take a look at the following position:
When trying for a pawn storm we should make sure the center is closed, otherwise our opponent might have annoying counter play:
3. Promotion:
We all know pawns promote on the 8th rank, however how to do that? Our opponent will try their best and prevent us from promoting. Topics:
A)Pawn Races
B)Under Promotion
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A) Pawn Races
Pawns often race down the board, trying to promote, but what if both sides are both trying to promote at the same time. Speed often matters the most:
B)Underpromotion
Promoting your pawn can often be exciting--you get a new queen! However, what if promote to a queen can result in a stalemate? Or doesn't achevie the best result? Then, We can switch our perspectives and think if we can promote to other pieces:
Did you solve it? What did you find challenging? Comment Down Below!
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