1.

[Many of our strategic decisions in chess come from the nuances of pawn structure. While the least valuable piece individually, the pawn is arguably the most important element of evaluating chess positions, because structure is what gives dynamic potential to all the other pieces. 

  I'll begin by teaching some of the pros and cons of various pawn formations, and then we'll see how they can be applied to strategic thinking.

{B:rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/32/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR}{W:j33a}{W:sil500}{W:j33c}

]

2.

[In this position, black's F pawns are doubled. The F6 and F7 pawns are on the same rank. That's called "doubled pawns". If this were a middle game position and black were castled king's side, then the double pawns would be a hazard to king safety, because of the open G file and weak H6 square. In an endgame, white might be able to slip in and attack the unsupportable H pawn. If the F6 pawn, on the other hand, were on G7, there'd be no way for white to penetrate. One way of forcing this type of structural weakness in you opponent's position can be seen here. Take a look.

{B:8/p1p1pp1p/5p2/8/3P4/1P2P3/P1P2PP1/8}{D:1500}{H:f7f6}{D:6500}{C}{D:2000}{P:BKg8}{P:BRf8}{D:4500}{H2:g1g2g3g4g5g6g7g8}{D:500}{H:h6}{D:2000}{P:WNe2}{D:1500}{S:e2g3}{D:1000}{S:g3f5}{D:1000}{S:f5h6}{D:2000}{C}{X:h6}{D:1200}{S:f6g7}{D:6500}{B:r1bq2kr/ppp2ppp/2np1n2/2b1p1B1/2B1P3/2NP1N2/PPP2PPP/R2QK2R}{W:j33e01}

]

3.

[

{B:r1bq2kr/ppp2ppp/2np1n2/2b1p1B1/2B1P3/2NP1N2/PPP2PPP/R2QK2R}{V:{SAVE}It's white to move here. Do you see a way to force the weakening of black's pawn structure?{W:j33e02};

$Here, the bishop on G5 pins the knight on F6. You can attack the pinned piece with knight D5. There's no way for black to prevent knight takes F6, G takes F6, after which, the king will be a little less safe, and the F pawn is doubled. 

  {D:1500}{A:Cg5f6}{A:Df6d8}{D:4000}{S:c3d5}{A:Cd5f6}

  {D:2500}{R}{S:d5f6}{D:1000}{S:g7f6}{D:1300}{H:g8}

  {D:1700}{C}{H:f7f6}{W:j33e03}{W:sil1000}{J}

$c3d5;Excellent work!

Here, the bishop on G5 pins the knight on F6. You can attack the pinned piece with knight D5. There's no way for black to prevent knight takes F6, G takes F6, after which, the king will be a little less safe, and the F pawn is doubled. 

  {W:excellent}{W:sil500}{D:1500}{A:Cg5f6}{A:Df6d8}{D:2500}{A:Cd5f6}

  {D:4000}{R}{S:d5f6}{D:1000}{S:g7f6}{D:1300}{H:g8}

  {D:1700}{C}{H:f7f6}{W:j33e03}{W:sil1000}{J};

$c Incorrect. There is a specific move we are looking for to weaken black’s pawn structure.{W:notquiteit}{RETRY};

g5f6:$c That's not quite it! Black can capture with the queen.{D:500}{S:d8f6}{W:notquiteit}{RETRY};

Look for a way to attack a pinned piece.}

]

4.

[It's important to note that doubled pawns are not always a negative, and they are certainly not always a big negative. You just have to know how to handle them. 

  Let's say after knight D5, black plays the interesting move, knight A5.

  White's bishop on C4 is pretty active, and so black chooses to trade knight for bishop, a good idea. Notice that the bishop can't escape, because after bishop B5, then black can play C6 and cause a problem.

{B:r1bq2kr/ppp2ppp/2np1n2/2b1p1B1/2B1P3/2NP1N2/PPP2PPP/R2QK2R}{D:500}{S:c3d5}{D:2000}{S:c6a5}{A:Ca5c4}{W:j33e05}{W:sil500}{D:1500}{R}{H2:c4b3b5a6d5e6}{A:Dc4f7}{D:1500}{C}{R}{H:a5c4}{A:Ca5c4}{D:2500}{C}{D:2500}{R}{C}{S:c4b5}{D:2000}{S:c7c6}{A:Cc6d5}{A:Cc6b5}{W:j33e06}{W:sil1000}{R}{J}

]

5.

[

{B:r1bq2kr/ppp2ppp/2np1n2/2bNp1B1/2B1P3/3P1N2/PPP2PPP/R2QK2R}{V:After knight A5, white has a tough decision. What would you play?

The bishop for knight trade is going to happen. White just has to decide how. A key principle with pawns is to take towards the center. We always want to improve the cohesiveness of our pawns and to increase central control. 

  {S:c6a5}{SAVE}{W:j33e08}{W:sil500}{W:j33e07};

$The best move is bishop B3. 

  {D:500}{S:c4b3}{W:j33e09}{W:sil1000}{W:sil1000}{J}

$c4b3;Good job! The best move is bishop B3. 

  {W:gg}{W:j33e09}{W:sil1000}{W:sil1000}{J};

$c Incorrect. Remember, we are looking for a bishop for knight trade.

  {W:notbest}{RETRY};

Try to move the bishop to a square where it can be defended by a pawn on the side of the board ...

}

]

6.

[

{B:r1bq2kr/ppp2ppp/3p1n2/n1bNp1B1/4P3/1B1P1N2/PPP2PPP/R2QK2R}{V:{S:a5b3}{SAVE}After black plays knight takes B3, what should you play?{W:j33e10};

$The best move is axb3, taking towards the center. 

  {D:1000}{S:a2b3}{W:j33e11}{W:sil1000}{J}

$a2b3;The best move is axb3, taking towards the center. Good job!

  {W:j33e11}{W:sil500}{W:goodjob}{W:sil1000}{J};

$c That's not quite right. Try again.

  {W:notquiteright}{RETRY};

The key is to take towards the center.

}

]

7.

[Notice also, now, white's rook is opened up along the A file, and white's central control is strong. 

  This particular example of doubled pawns, the B2 and B3 pawns for white, is not much of weakness. Now, on the other hand, if white had played C takes B3, things would be different. Suddenly the D4 square is wide open. It's a big weakness. It's an outpost for black pieces. It can't be defended by a white pawn. Going back, if white had, say, castled here, and allowed knight takes C4, D takes C4, he also would have been forced to take away from the center. So, in this position, white had to decide how to trade bishop for knight, without losing central control and without weakening the pawn structure. So bishop B3. Knight takes B3. A takes B3, recaptured towards the center, and white has a good game.

{B:r1bq2kr/ppp2ppp/3p1n2/2bNp1B1/4P3/1P1P1N2/1PP2PPP/R2QK2R}{D:2000}{H:a1a2a3a4a5a6a7a8}{D:2000}{H2:b3d3e4d5}{A:Gc2b3}{A:Gc2d3}{W:j33e11a}{W:sil1000}{C}{R}{D:2000}{H:b2}{D:500}{H:b3}{D:2500}{C}{S:b3a2}{P:BNb3}{D:2000}{S:c2b3}{D:2500}{H:d4}{D:6500}{C}{S:b3c2}{P:BNb3}{S:b3a5}{P:WBb3}{S:b3c4}{D:2000}{S:e1g1}{S:h1f1}{D:2000}{S:a5c4}{D:1000}{S:d3c4}{D:4500}{B:r1bq2kr/ppp2ppp/3p1n2/n1bNp1B1/2B1P3/3P1N2/PPP2PPP/R2QK2R}{D:7500}{S:c4b3}{D:1000}{S:a5b3}{D:1000}{S:a2b3}{W:j33e12}

]

8.

[Also notice that in this position, after white makes the inevitable trade on F6, knight takes F6, G takes F6, bishop H6, while both white and black have doubled pawns, white's position is much better, because black's double pawns weaken his king, and white's doubled pawns weaken nothing.

{B:r1bq2kr/ppp2ppp/3p1n2/2bNp1B1/4P3/1P1P1N2/1PP2PPP/R2QK2R}{D:4000}{S:d5f6}{D:1000}{S:g7f6}{D:1000}{S:g5h6}{D:2000}{H2:b2b3}{D:500}{H:f6f7}{D:4500}{H:g8}{W:j33e13}{C}{R}

]

9.

[Let's return to a position we saw not so long ago. We saw that black had doubled pawns. Black also has what's called "isolated pawns". Isolated pawns are pawns that are exposed on open files and cannot be supported by other pawns. Here we see that black's C and H pawns are isolated. You can imagine that if white were to have two rooks on the C file or H file, this could cause big problems for black. On the other hand, if that A7 pawn were on B7, and white were to have a rook on C1, then simply C7 to C6 would put up a wall. Isolated pawns also have the downside of leaving open holes within their own camp in which enemy pieces can comfortably lodge. We'll see more on this idea on the weak squares creating outposts sections to come. Take a look at the next position.

{B:8/p1p1pp1p/5p2/8/3P4/1P2P3/P4PP1/8}{D:4000}{H:f6f7}{D:2500}{C}{D:8500}{H:c7}{D:500}{H:h7}{D:4000}{P:WRc1}{D:1000}{P:WRh1}{D:1500}{A:Cc1c7}{A:Ch1h7}{D:2000}{C}{R}{B:8/p1p1pp1p/5p2/8/3P4/1P2P3/P4PP1/8}{D:1000}{H:a7}{D:1000}{C}{S:a7b7}{D:2000}{P:WRc1}{D:1500}{S:c7c6}{A:Gb7c6}{D:1000}{H:b7c6}{H2:c1c2c3c4c5}{D:2500}{C}{R}{W:j33e14}

]

10.

[This is a typical position where black has an isolated pawn. You can see that white has the powerful D4 outpost for his knight or other pieces, and that the D5 pawn is a long-term weakness for black to deal with. Usually, when you have this type of isolated central pawn, when there are lots of pieces on the board, your best bet is to play very actively.

{B:r4rk1/pp1qbppp/4bn2/3p4/3N4/1P4P1/PB1QPPBP/2RR2K1}{D:2000}{H:d5}{D:3000}{N2:d4}{D:3000}{H:d5}{W:j33e15}

]

11.

[Now let's return to that familiar pawn structure. We saw that black had double pawns and isolated pawns. There's one more weakness. "Pawn islands." A pawn island is a pawn or a group of pawns that has one or more files separating it from any other friendly pawns. In this position, we see that white has two pawn islands, and black has four pawn islands. This is a big difference and it means that white's pawns will be more coordinated and will have less holes in their structure as the game progresses. A trick that you can use when evaluating pawn structures, especially in or near the endgame, is to ask yourself how many pawn islands each player has. In general, the more pawn islands, the more weaknesses.

{B:8/p1p1pp1p/5p2/8/3P4/1P2P3/P4PP1/8}{D:3000}{H:f6f7}{D:1000}{H:c7h7}{D:3000}{C}{R}{D:11000}{H:a2b3}{D:500}{H:d4e3f2g2}{D:1500}{H:a7}{D:500}{H:c7}{D:500}{H:e7f7f6}{D:500}{H:h7}{D:6000}{C}{W:j33e16}

]

12.

[Another key indicator of whether or not a pawn structure has the potential to be well coordinated is to check out whether they can create a pawn chain. Here we see the F2, E3, D4 pawns forming a chain, but there are much more powerful examples.

{B:8/p1p1pp1p/5p2/8/3P4/1P2P3/P4PP1/8}{D:7500}{H:f2}{D:500}{H:e3}{A:Gf2e3}{D:500}{H:d4}{A:Ge3d4}{W:j33e17}

]

13.

[

{B:6r1/p4p1p/2Pp1k1p/3P4/4P3/5P2/6P1/1R3K2}{QB:TTake a look at this. Who do you think is better here? White or black? {W:j33e18};

White;That's right!

{W:thatsright}{W:sil500}

{J};

Black;That's not quite it ...

{W:notquiteit}{W:sil500}

{J}

}

]

14.

[Here the material is even but white has a huge advantage because of his pawn structure. First of all, he has one pawn island to four. Black has doubled, isolated H pawns, which are useless and very vulnerable to attack. Perhaps the most impressive element of the position is white's huge pawn chain stretching from G2 all the way to C6. A critical thing to realize in this type of situation is that white has only one potential weakness, the G2 pawn. Black has to try to attack the base of the pawn chain, but in this position G2 is comfortably defended by the white king. In contrast, black has weaknesses all over the board.

{B:6r1/p4p1p/2Pp1k1p/3P4/4P3/5P2/6P1/1R3K2}{D:5000}{H2:c6d5e4f3g2}{D:600}{H:a7}{D:300}{H:d6}{D:300}{H:f7}{D:400}{H:h6h7}{D:1000}{C}{D:500}{H:h6h7}{D:4000}{C}{D:4000}{H2:g2}{D:300}{H2:f3}{A:Gg2f3}{D:300}{H2:e4}{A:Gf3e4}{D:300}{H2:d5}{A:Ge4d5}{D:300}{H2:c6}{A:Gd5c6}{D:300}{D:5500}{H:g2}{D:1500}{A:Cg8g2}{D:3500}{A:Gf1g2}{D:3000}{R}{H:a7}{D:300}{H:d6}{D:300}{H:f7}{D:400}{H:h6h7}{W:j33e19}{C}{R}

]

15.

[Then there's another key factor. White has a protected passed pawn. A passed pawn is one that has no enemy pawns blocking its path to promotion. Passed pawns are very important. My first teach used to tell me: passed pawns must be pushed. The further up the board a passer gets, the closer to promotion and thus the more valuable it becomes.

  Often in endgames, and you can see this in my endgame course later on in the Academy, the position hinges on whose pawns have more potential to be promoted. In this case, both white and black have passed pawns. The main difference is that white's passed pawn is further advanced and protected, while black's passed pawn still sits on its original square and is vulnerable to attack. Passed pawns are good and protected passed pawns are even better.

{B:6r1/p4p1p/2Pp1k1p/3P4/4P3/5P2/6P1/1R3K2}{D:2000}{H2:c6}{D:3000}{A:Tc6c8}{W:j33e20}{C}{R}{W:sil1000}{D:8000}{H:a7}{H2:c6}{D:2500}{C}{D:1000}{H2:c6}{D:1000}{A:Tc2c6}{D:1000}{A:Gd5c6}{D:1000}{H:a7}{D:2000}{S:b1a1}{A:Ca1a7}{D:1500}{C}{R}{W:j33e21}

]

16.

[Here's another factor that should help you evaluate passed pawns in endgames: whose is further away from the action? Take a look at this position. 

Here both sides have passed pawns, but who do you think is winning? White or black?

{B:8/7p/4k1p1/4p3/8/4K1P1/P6P/8}{W:j33e22}{W:sil500}{QB:Here's another factor that should help you evaluate passed pawns in endgames: whose is further away from the action? Take a look at this position. 

Here both sides have passed pawns, but who do you think is winning? White or black? 

  {D:1000}{H:a2e5}{W:j33e23};

White;Good job!{W:goodjob}{W:sil1000}{J};

Black;That's not quite it.{W:notquiteit}{W:sil1000}{J}}

]

17.

[It turns out that despite the material equality, white is completely winning, because he has the outside passed pawn. If black plays king D5, white plays A4. Black has no choice but to stop the promotion. King C4. The king has to leave the king's side, and now white can play actively with his king. King E4. Next he can play king takes E5, followed by king F6 to G7, takes on H7, takes on G6, and then he'll make a queen with the H pawn or G pawn. White can gobble up all black's king's side pawns while the black king is preoccupied on the other side of the board.

{B:8/7p/4k1p1/4p3/8/4K1P1/P6P/8}{D:4500}{H:a2}{D:2000}{C}{D:500}{S:e6d5}{D:2000}{S:a2a4}{D:4000}{S:d5c4}{D:5000}{S:e3e4}{D:500}{S:c4b4}{D:1500}{S:e4e5}{D:500}{S:b4a4}{D:1500}{S:e5f6}{S:a4b4}{D:500}{S:f6g7}{D:1000}{S:b4c4}{D:500}{S:g7h7}{D:500}{S:c4d4}{D:500}{S:h7g6}{D:500}{S:d4e4}{D:500}{S:g6g5}{D:500}{A:Th2h8}{D:700}{A:Tg3g8}{D:1300}{C}{R}{W:j33e24}

]

18.

[Returning to the last position, it's true. You could argue that black has the outside passed pawn, but in this case it doesn't really matter because the rook is such a powerful long-distance operator, and other factors are, in this case, more important. For example, the powerful pawn chain, black's many weaknesses, black's doubled pawns. White has a great game here. 

  In chess, we're often weighing the values of different types of principles in order to properly evaluate a position. You'll get better at this as you gain experience and get used to working with the fundamentals. In time, all the principles that I'm teaching you in this course become part of your chess intuition. You'll think with them without even knowing it. For now, let's look at some of the impact of pawn structure on strategy.

{B:6r1/p4p1p/2Pp1k1p/3P4/4P3/5P2/6P1/1R3K2}{D:4000}{H:a7}{D:3000}{S:b1a1}{A:Ca1a7}{D:3000}{C}{R}{S:a1b1}{D:2000}{H2:c6d5e4f3g2}{D:1600}{H:a7}{D:200}{H:d6}{D:200}{H:f7}{D:200}{H:h6h7}{D:600}{C}{H:h6h7}{D:1500}{C}{W:j33e25}{W:sil500}{W:j33e26}

]

