pawn losses

I keep losing too many pawns...help!

As the middle game comes to an end and moves into the endgame, I tend to realise a little too late that I have lost too many pawns..more than my opponent, putting me at a great disadvantage in the endgame once most of the more powerful pieces are gone.

Can you help me with sratagies for keeping hold of my pawns and using them more effectivley throughout the game??

Thanks

Adam

I looked at a few of your games and it looks like you're not protecting your pawns with pawns. You sorta get a couple of pawns in the middle (sometimes side-by-side on e4 and d4) and then just wait for your opponent to steal the middle from you. Perhaps a stronger player will be able to help you more but that is what it looked like to me. 

I think you are right they do end up stranded in the middle sometimes.

Perhaps we should have a game sometime?

Thanks

You don't care about your pawns. You use your pawns as if chess is just like life to you. You probably told your pawns that they can get ahead and be successful on the board, if they just sit on some square, and feel secure that you will protect them. WRONG. You don't protect them at all! You just exploit them, use them, and let them die...

It's a cold hard world out there, though. Those pawns have to learn how to fend for themselves at one point or another. You should expose your pawns to pets when they are young so they can learn about death. You should not shield them from the natural consequences of their actions. But you should still give them a hug when they need it.

You may be the only person on earth that gets a pet for a child, so they can learn about death.

Fish work great for that, as do hamsters :-)

But seriously, I just looked at one of your games. You gave away a bishop and a rook for free in the first 4 moves. Pawn structure is the least of your worries if you keep walking into oncoming traffic like that.  But in the same game, you pushed pawns and seemed to leave some big holes on squares that gave you problems. For example, in the same game you pushed a6 and c6, leaving the knight on b6 on the same diagonal with the king - with a bishop nearby - that just smells dangerous. Don't push pawns where they need to be defended by your major pieces - then they just become targets and get picked off later on.

Kettx has a nice point,"Protecting pawns with pawns". Lev Alburt, a famous Russian GM and coach,also says the same.When you protect a pawn with another pawn,opponent will think twice about targeting them with his pieces as that exchange wouldnt be worth it,unless ofcourse there is some immediate mating threat or a trap.For example your opponent is attacking a pawn of yours twice with his rooks and you defend it with your rook,now your opponent will win that exchange.But,instead of defending with a rook,if you defend that pawn with another pawn,then your opponent wouldnt take it as he/she would lose that exchange.

Amongst the chatter about abusing my pawns and possibly getting them a pet...there was some useful advise. Thanks Metastable :)

"Don't push pawns where they need to be defended by your major pieces - then they just become targets and get picked off later on".

Sound advise and something that I can tangiably use. Thank you!