One general idea against a "weak" pawn is to control the square in front of him : the pawn cannot move, so it will stay "weak".
Of course we apply it on an IQP. and generally speaking, in most IQP positions, black's plan is to occupy d5 square with a piece and u cannot prevent it as white.
All this is well known since IQP positions exist.
it's the same with IKP, the isolated king pawn, that is, e5, e4 for white.
Most normal openings won't feature it, but this is certainly part of the game.
I feel like something about this is almost missing the point. Yes, your pieces to have access to the d5 square...but you do not generally have access to e5,d4, or e4. White does generally have access to e4 and e5. Other square near the center also tend to be more controlled by white than black. So as far as center access is concerned white actually has an edge.
By itself plopping a piece on d5 doesn't really do anything magical. You do not necessarily need to occupy that square to prevent white from playing d5...because most of the time (but surprisingly not always) white would simply lose a pawn if he plays d5. Yes, a knight on d5 often controls important squares especially c3 and f4. Controlling c3 is interesting because if white ends up with a pawn on c3 it will often wind up being a more significant weakness than his 'weak' d4 pawn...because d4 being close to the center is usually 'accidentally' defended by white simply developing his pieces to control the center...while a weak c pawn will pull whites access away from the center and especially away from the kingside.
There is a lot one could say about iqp positions in general and its something I have ended up specializing in...the more experience you have with them the harder it becomes to really state a simple rule that is generally true.
I just think the video kinda showed a little tunnel vision about d5. Yes d5 is an important square, but it cant be the only thing you look at. As the game itself proved, active play on the kingside is often a vital part of white's winning chances. So you don't want to simply stare at d5...you want to keep an eye on f7/h7/e6 as well.
even if somehow black did manage his sort of d5 blockade dream and white couldn't find anything interesting to do, its still not usually going to be enough to win the game. Sure d4 is weak but I don't feel like you need to have any godly technical skill to draw an 'iqp that petered out' sort of endgame. If black is going to win he will need to give white some additional weakness besides d4...or perhaps simply refute an unsound attack against his king or something. Focusing only on the isolated d4 will really lure black to a likely draw.
Capablanca was a natural and the most gifted chess player.
I just think the video kinda showed a little tunnel vision about d5. Yes d5 is an important square, but it cant be the only thing you look at. As the game itself proved, active play on the kingside is often a vital part of white's winning chances. So you don't want to simply stare at d5...you want to keep an eye on f7/h7/e6 as well.
even if somehow black did manage his sort of d5 blockade dream and white couldn't find anything interesting to do, its still not usually going to be enough to win the game. Sure d4 is weak but I don't feel like you need to have any godly technical skill to draw an 'iqp that petered out' sort of endgame. If black is going to win he will need to give white some additional weakness besides d4...or perhaps simply refute an unsound attack against his king or something. Focusing only on the isolated d4 will really lure black to a likely draw.
FYI, a few mins earlier they showed what Lasker should have done which was take the Knight on f6.
The IQP is just one factor.
It depends what the other are.
So, you might have IQP, and still be better.
A bit more activity, or something else, and it does not matter at all.
In general, however, with other things being equal, this is a big advantage,
maybe some 40cps or so, so close to half a pawn, and very close to winning the game
just by itself.
I've been watching all of this historian's biographies of famous chess players and around the 50 min mark he talks about the importance of not allowing Black to anchor a piece on d5 when playing with an IQP.
Was this obvious to everyone? Maybe I unconsciously knew it but never thought about it explicit. This was a game between Lasker & Caps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sym9V7YspNE