Pawn pushing..

Hey guys,

I lose every time when my opponents start pushing pawns on the side where I castled, I fail to defend every time and my opponents succeed to open up the squares around the king. This is my greatest weakness, any advice? I would be thankful if someone links me to threads or something else regarding this kind of defence.

It usually helps to show us one of your games. It could be that you are leaving your pieces vulnerable to your opponents pawns as they move up the board.

How do I post my game, I'm using a tab.

Go to the game you want to share. Click Get PGN.

Then come to the forums and click the little chessboard

Choose the option that lets you display a game and past the PGN code you got above into the space provided.

If they have equal or greater number of pawns on that side, they'll dominate. It helps me to take out one of those pawns by holding the center with my pawns. It's only when your center is weak that the guy will trample down one side.

Or, wait for the other guy to castle.

Posting is hard on tablets. Try providing a link to the game?

Always remember Grasshopper: wax on, wax off. 

Actually what I'm trying to say is that any time a pawn is pushed pay close attention to the squares left unprotected. Pawns help guard your territory so the oponents pieces don't just rush into your side of the board & take over. If your opponents are too careless & push so many without much thought they will leave huge weaknesses or holes all in their camp. Find ways to plant your pieces on them & your opponents will wish they could move all those pawns back again.

Thank you guys, here's a link to one of my games-

http://www.chess.com/livechess/game?id=769464564, I made silly mistakes in this game but I can't focus when opponents start pushing pawns, I panic every time.

ColonelKnight wrote:

"If they have equal or greater number of pawns on that side, they'll dominate. It helps me to take out one of those pawns by holding the center with my pawns. It's only when your center is weak that the guy will trample down one side.

Or, wait for the other guy to castle."

I don't seem to manage when the pawns are pushed on a,b,g,h files, even a strong centre doesn't help. And i'm still an amateur. Most of the time I play 5min games, maybe I should start playing longer games.

Thx Mr.damonsmith, maybe this is what I was not concentrating on. I get panicked and tend to focus only on what opponent might do and I miss out my opportunities on the weak squares left behind.

Opening the center will almost always paralyze a Pawn-storm on the flank.

How does it do this?

Opening the center gives you access to the weak squares that get left behind when a Pawn-mass advances.

Also, the threats that you generate in the center will usually be more urgent than the slow-motion stuff taking place on the wings.

@kleelof, can't post the way you described from tablet.

That would be an EXCELLENT idea.

I used to play 15 minute games. Then, I read that correspondance or, as it is called here, Online Chess was good because it lets you study as you play.

Now I play 1 or 3 days time controls with an occassional 30 minute game.

This approach has helped me improve greatly.

The problem is when I lose in longer games I get bored and lose interest very soon, I can only play 2 or three longer games back to back, but I keep playing 5 min games for hours:-)

I only play online games at 3 (or more) days per move. We could play an unrated game or two, if you like.

Keep pushing those pawns.

@blueemu, okay I'll challenge you, thx.

It's a funny thing. When you begin studying, you will find there is more to fill your mind when thinking about chess.

- Canidate moves - In shorter time controls, in a complex position, you don't have time to find and analyze many of these. Probably one reason that there are lots of superficial blunders in shorter time control games. In longer time controls, you have time to look at all the canidate moves and analyze them deeper.

- Strategy - In longer time controls you have time to look at the entire board, consider the forces and develop stronger strategies. Short time controls limit this as most time is spent trying to create tactical advantages.

I'm sure there are more, but these 2 that I have really noticed.

An Online Chess game can take as little as 15 minutes per day depending on how much you study. This still leaves plenty of time for your short time contorl games. These are still quite benificial for some important parts of chess.