Beginner Asks About Game Plan
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I read that your pawns can determine on how to proceed with development and how to plan your attack. If this statement is correct, would someone be kind enough to explain how this strategy works? Thank you.
Thanks, your just too kind.
I'm trying coach, take care!
Apr 24, 2016
0
#4
Space, meaning the squares behind your pawns that you can safely use to maneuver your pieces, is one of the basic elements.
Not in every game, but in many games the players will each have an advantage in space on one side (kingside or queenside). Below are two common formations for the center pawns. The first can arise out of a french and the 2nd can come from a king's indian defense.
In the first, white's natural play is on the kingside, where he has more space. Black's is on the queenside. In the 2nd diagram the opposite is true.
A simple way to remember which is taught to students is to attack on the side where your pawn chain "points."
The reason this is true in most positions is simply that having more space allows you to configure your pieces more quickly and in more ways. The defender in comparison cannot. So direct defense is both technically difficult and many times objectively impossible.
Apr 24, 2016
0
#5
The other clue pawns give is pawn breaks, sometimes called pawn levers.
Imagine playing a game of chess where pawns could neither capture, or be captured... they would clutter up the board and likely only the knights would be able to get near the enemy king. All games would end in a draw.
Pawn breaks are when you advance your pawn to attack an enemy pawn, and the enemy pawn can't move forward to avoid a capture. No matter who captures after a pawn break is played, lines will be opened. Lines as in files, ranks, and diagonals. These are highways for the pieces to operate. As we noticed before, without them the game would be a dull draw every time.
Looking at the first diagram in my previous post, white, wanting to play on the kingside, can certainly consider playing his f pawn up to f5 to open lines on the kingside. A natural pawn break. Black will play for c5 (which often happens very early in french games with this structure).
In the 2nd diagram it's the opposite. White wants the play a pawn break on the c file, and black on the f file.
Just a quick note though, that when attacking the enemy king, sometimes even better than capturing with your f pawn is to push it as far down as you can and then sacrifices pieces to remove pawns... I wont get into it but it's worth mentioning.
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Here is a position without distinct pawn chains as in my previous post. It can arise out of a caro kann defense. Move white's c pawn to the e file instead, and it's out of a Slav defense.
In such a position, a major strategic aim is for black to play either the c5 or e5 pawn break, otherwise his position will be too passive.
Most typical structures (and there are only a dozen or so to know) have their typical pawn breaks. These breaks account for one of the major strategic themes of any position.
Thank you very much for your kind response 0110001101101000
