Pawn Structure
Each player begins a chess game with eight pawns. Let’s learn why pawn structures are important and how they can influence the outcome of a game.
- What Is Pawn Structure?
- Why Is Pawn Structure Important?
- What Pawn Structures Are Good?
- What Are Bad Pawn Structures?
- Wrapping Up
- Pawn Structure Video
What Is Pawn Structure?
Pawn structure is a chess term that refers to the configuration or placement of pawns on the chessboard during a game. Some structures are good; others are particularly bad.
Why Is Pawn Structure Important?
Pawn structures are important because they can determine the strategic character of a position. A solid pawn structure can give a player the power to attack and defend with confidence. Effective pawn structures can help to control the center, restrict an opponent's movement, and reduce weaknesses.
In addition, pawn structures provide information about a position, such as if it is closed or open. In closed positions, central pawns are blocked and none have been exchanged. (The central pawns are the d- and e-pawns for both White and Black.) In closed positions, knights are considered to be more powerful than bishops that may be blocked and have few squares to attack.
Pawn structure of a closed position.
In open positions, central pawns have been exchanged and center squares can be occupied by pieces; bishops have more power in these positions because they are not obstructed by central pawns. Identical or similar structures can result from different openings. Because pawns cannot be moved very fast, a pawn structure often stays the same for an extended time.
Pawn structure of an open position.
What Pawn Structures Are Good?
Generally, a good pawn structure has connected pawns that can defend each other. Good structures can lead to strategic advantages and help a player win a game. Here are some significant examples.
Black's a-pawn and White's g-pawn are passed pawns. Black's pawns on the a- and b- files as well as the d- and e-files are connected; White's pawns on the c-, d-, e-, f-, and g-files are also connected.
Passed Pawns
When no enemy pawn can stop a pawn, it is called a passed pawn. Having a passed pawn often gives a player a significant advantage because when it reaches the last row or rank, it can be promoted. A passed pawn can be a decisive advantage in an endgame.
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Connected Pawns
When pawns are connected, they can work as a team and limit an opponent’s flexibility. When two or more pawns are together side by side with no empty files between them, they are considered connected.
Pawn Majority
Having more pawns on one side of the board than an opponent is known as a pawn majority. A pawn majority can help a player control a game. When a player has a pawn majority, they may use an attacking method known as a pawn storm and advance the pawns toward the pawn cover of the opponent’s king.
When a player has a pawn majority, they may want to begin a series of exchanges and create a passed pawn. Several structures with a pawn majority such as the Carlsbad formation illustrated below are very well-known:
Pawn Chain
When pawns are placed on the same diagonal without any interruption, they are known as a pawn chain. A pawn chain can be effective because the pawns in the chain protect each other except for the base that is undefended. A general rule is that a player should attack in the direction that a pawn chain points. Because the chain is on a diagonal, it can help a player control squares of the color that the chain is on. However, because the pawns are all on one color, they leave holes between them that are not guarded.
What Are Bad Pawn Structures?
Because weaknesses in a pawn structure are usually permanent, players try to avoid bad structures, such as isolated, backward, doubled, and hanging pawns. When an opponent has one of these structural weaknesses, look for ways to exploit it with tactics. In particular, a weak pawn structure in front of an opponent’s king should be an invitation for you to plan an attack.
Pawn Island
A pawn island is a pawn or a group of connected pawns separated from the other pawns of a player by an open file, If not adequately protected, a pawn island can be vulnerable to attack. Generally, the fewer pawn islands that a player has, the better.
Black has two pawn islands; White has three, including the isolated pawn on h4.
Isolated Pawn
A pawn island with just one pawn is known as an isolated pawn. It is weak because it cannot be protected by other pawns, and its defense depends on other pieces. In an endgame, an isolated pawn can be a critical weakness.
Backward Pawn
A backward pawn is a single pawn in a pawn island. Because it has no pawns that can support it, it requires protection and may become vulnerable to attack. A backward pawn also cannot advance freely without being captured and almost always supports another pawn on an adjacent file.
White has a backward pawn on d2 and doubled pawns on the f-file; Black has a passed pawn on h4.
Doubled Pawns
Two pawns of the same color on the same file are called doubled pawns. They occur when a pawn has moved diagonally when capturing an opponent’s piece. Doubled pawns are typically a weakness because they cannot protect one other and cannot move easily (one blocks the other).
Typical pawn structure in the Ruy Lopez opening with doubled pawns (c7 & c6).
Hanging Pawns
When two pawns of the same color are on adjacent files with no pawns of the same color on the files to either side of them, they are called hanging pawns. Hanging pawns are usually on the same rank (side by side).
Here is a visual reference demonstrating how hanging pawns appear on the chessboard:
The white c- and d- pawns are known as hanging pawns because no pawns of the same color are on the files to either side of them.
Be careful not to have a hanging pawn.
Wrapping Up
You now know what the term pawn structure means and understand why pawn structure is important. As you continue to play chess, plan to keep your structure strong and look for weaknesses in your opponent’s structure that you can attack.