Pawn majorities
When two pawns are exchanged for the first time in a game, two different situations can occur. A balanced one or an unbalanced one.
Either blacks e-pawn or blacks c-pawn disappears. When the e-pawn disappears, the pawn structure is still balanced. The e-file becomes open on both sides, and since both sides cannot afford the other side to dominate the file, the trading of the rooks on a certain moment in the future becomes likely. But when blacks c-pawn disappears, the pawn structure becomes unbalanced.
Two pawn majorities and two pawn minorities emerge. White has a majority on the queenside, while black has a majority in the center. Black has a minority on the queenside, while white has a minority in the center. Furthermore, white has an half open e-file, while black has an half open c-file. The exchange of rooks is not likely anytime soon.
The state of the pawn majorities gives a clue for the strategy to follow. The diagnosis of the situation. What are the parameters?
- Is the majority mobile?
- Can the majority be blocked?
- Can the majority be converted into a passer?
- What is the distance between the opponent's King and the promotion square of the passer?
- What is the distance between the passer and the promotion square?
- Is there a double pawn in the majority?
- Can the double pawn be resolved?
- Can the double pawn be converted into a passer?
- Is the double pawn covering squares in the center?
- Creates the double pawn extra half open squares?
- Is the pawn minority mobile?
- Can the pawn majority be used to create a weak pawn in the opponents camp?
This is part of the stage of diagnosis.
The pawns are moving slow. Hence it is logical to base your plans on the pawns. The grand picture that emerges is to use your mobile pawn masses as a battering ram to shatter the enemy lines.
ReplyDeleteThe problem to get a coherent narrative is that a bad pawn structure sometimes coincides with more piece activity. Through more open files, for instance. I try to get that picture clear.
PART I:
ReplyDeleteThere are multiple avenues for attack and defense based on the structure in the first diagram. I have not seen a particular treatise on this structure because it can evolve in many different directions.
The second diagram (with half-open e-file for White and half-open c-file for Black) is the standard Carlsbad [Karlsbad] Structure—with colors reversed. This typical structure can arise from many different openings, directly or through transpositions, and is therefore important to know the typical plans and counter-plans that are available.
I gave two excellent references to how to play the Carlsbad Structure in a comment on 24 MAY 2024 (responding to the blog post Reducks on 20 MAY 2024):
[1] LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSGf5E9IWMY
A 3-hour video course by GM Sune Berg Hansen; see the previous comment for a detailed list of the contents, based on deep analysis of prototypical games.
[2] BOOK: Zlotnik’s Middlegame Manual: Typical Structures and Strategic Maneuvres, Boris Zlotnik, © 2020, New In Chess
An in-depth Chapter 2 The Carlsbad structure is devoted to detailed analysis of the variations associated with the Carlsbad formation. I did not give any additional information about the Zlotnik book in that comment. I correct that oversight below.
Zlotnik gives the following summary of the plans and counter-plans that are available to both players. [Note: the terminology given is directly from the book; the colors and the appropriate square references must be reversed to match the diagram in this blog post. What?! Do I have to do THAT also? Just kidding!]
pg 77: Let us now return to the first diagram of this chapter. [I added the two kings in typical positions to make the diagram acceptable to Chess Tempo.]
FEN: 6k1/pp3ppp/2p5/3p4/3P4/4P3/PP3PPP/6K1 w - - 0 1
White [in the diagram] has the following plans at his disposal:
2.2. Plan A: minority attack with b4-b5xc6;
2.3. Plan B: attack the centre with e3-e4;
2.4. Plan C: kingside attack with both sides castled on the kingside;
2.5. Plan D: play in positions with both sides castled on the queenside.
Black in turn has the following methods of defense available:
i) Kingside counterattack with pawns;
ii) Kingside counterattack with pieces;
iii) Positional methods of defense, e.g. erecting a barrier with ...b7-b5 or controlling the squares c4 and b5 with pieces;
iv) The central break ...c6-c5;
v) Counterattack against White’s queenside castled position.
Black’s choice of defensive method depends on which plan White adopts. For instance, defense method v) can only occur in the case of Plan D or E.
The video looks good. It will take some time to digest. I will have a look at the book too. Thx!
DeletePART II:
ReplyDeleteGM Stockfish gives the following evaluations of the bare King and Pawn position after 1 hour of analysis (illustrating how important proper piece placement and play are in these types of positions):
D39 0.00 1.b4 Kf8 2.f3 Ke7 3.Kf2 Kd6 4.e4 f6 5.Ke3 b6 6.h4 a5 7.bxa5 bxa5 8.h5 c5 9.Kd3 g6 10.hxg6 hxg6 11.a4 g5 12.g4 Kc6 13.Kc3 dxe4 14.fxe4 cxd4+ 15.Kxd4 Kd6 16.Kd3 Ke5 17.Ke3 Ke6 18.Kd2 Kd7 19.Kc2 Kc7 20.Kc3
D39 0.00 1.a3 Kf8 2.b4 Ke7 3.f3 Kd6 4.Kf2 b6 5.Ke2 h6 6.Kd2 Ke6 7.Kd3 f5 8.Ke2 Ke7 9.Kf2 Kd6 10.Ke2
D39 0.00 1.g4 a5 2.f3 f6 3.Kf2 Kf7 4.b3 Ke6 5.a3 g6 6.Ke2 h6 7.b4 a4 8.Kf1 Kd6 9.Ke2 Kc7 10.e4 Kd6 11.Kd2 Ke6 12.Ke3 b6 13.Kd3 h5 14.gxh5 gxh5 15.h4 dxe4+ 16.fxe4 f5 17.Ke3 fxe4 18.Kxe4 b5 19.Ke3 Kd6 20.Ke4 Ke6
D39 0.00 1.f3 a5 2.g4 f6 3.Kf2 Kf7 4.b3 Ke6 5.a3 g6 6.Ke2 h6 7.b4 a4 8.Kf1 Kd6 9.Ke2 Kc7 10.e4 Kd6 11.Kd2 Ke6 12.Ke3 b6 13.Kd3 h5 14.gxh5 gxh5 15.h4 Kd6 16.Kc3 dxe4 17.fxe4 c5 18.dxc5+ bxc5 19.b5 Kc7 20.Kd3 Kb7 21.Kc3 Kc7
D39 0.00 1.b3 Kf8 2.Kf1 Ke7 3.g4 a5 4.a3 Kf6 5.Kg2 Ke6 6.Kf3 Ke7 7.Ke2 Kf6 8.Kf3 Ke6 9.Ke2 f6 10.Kf3 g6 11.Ke2 Kd7 12.f3 h6 13.e4 Ke6 14.b4 axb4 15.axb4 dxe4 16.fxe4 f5 17.gxf5+ gxf5 18.e5 b6 19.Ke3 c5 20.bxc5 bxc5 21.dxc5 Kxe5 22.h4 f4+ 23.Kf3 Kd5 24.Kxf4 Kxc5 25.Kf5 Kd5 26.Kg4 Ke5
D39 0.00 1.Kf1 a5 2.a3 Kf8 3.b3 Ke7 4.g4 Kf6 5.Kg2 Ke6 6.Kf3 Ke7 7.Ke2 Kf6 8.Kf3 Ke6 9.Ke2 f6 10.Kf3 g6 11.Ke2 Kd7 12.f3 h6 13.e4 Ke6 14.b4 axb4 15.axb4 b6 16.Ke3 dxe4 17.fxe4 f5 18.gxf5+ gxf5 19.e5 c5 20.dxc5 bxc5 21.bxc5 Kxe5
Reiterating: the piece placement is crucial for both attack and defense based on this pawn structure. The only way I know to gain the required expertise is to study prototypical grandmaster games and how the piece placement evolves relative to the structure.