Fiddling around
My openings play is usually pretty bad.
That coincides with little understanding of what I'm doing. Hence you will notice that my approach will be a wee bit chaotic. Please bear with me.
Alas, Lucas Chess doesn't accept positions without a king. But the position is about the pawns, not the kings.
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| Diagram 1. White to move |
- trade the e-pawn
- advance the e-pawn
- protect the e-pawn
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| Diagram 2. exd5 |
For white:
- e-file opens
- diagonal b1/h7 opens
For black:
- e-file opens
- diagonal c8/h3 opens
Whether to exchange the pawns or not depends from the question: who's pieces are going to benefit the most from the opening of the position? And that depends on the piece placement on both sides.
Advancing the e-pawn
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| Diagram 3. e5 |
This has the following consequences.
White:
- diagonal b1/h7 opens up
- e6 becomes the base of the chain and hence an object of attack for the f-pawn
- more space
- light squared bishop becomes good
- dark squared bishop becomes bad
Black:
- d4 becomes a target for the c-pawn
- position becomes cramped
- light squared bishop becomes bad
- dark squared bishop becomes good
Protect the e-pawn
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| Diagram 4. Protect e4 |
This keeps the options open for white. When black trades dxe4 fxe4:
- black loses control over c4
- diagonal a8/h1 opens up for black
- d-file open for black
- pawn d4 becomes mobile for white
- whites gets the majority in the center
In general, the party that is ahead in development benefits the most from opening the position and the ensuing piece trade that might occur. Since it are the active pieces that are traded, leaving the undeveloped pieces where they are.
(1) Exchanging on d5 creates two additional middlegame possibilities by opening a diagonal pointing toward the Black Kingside and a file pointing toward the initial Black King position. White must prepare this by having his light square Bishop somewhere on the b1-h7 diagonal and his Rook (and possibly his Queen) on the e-file. That also implies a lead in development, so that the White pieces can attack on the Kingside or at least pressure the opponent via piece activity once the LoA are opened. If White does not have those preconditions, then it would be a bad idea to exchange on d5.
ReplyDelete(2) Advancing the e-pawn to e5 does two significant things: a pawn chain is created in the center, and the board is cut in two by that center. Each player has a natural sphere of influence, based on the direction of the pawn chain. In most cases, due to the lack of mobility through the center area, activity will progress at a slower pace. Each player (in general) should strive for a pawn advance on the side toward which the pawn chain is pointing; i.e., for White it will be the Kingside, and for Black it will be the Queenside. If one side can stymie the opponent’s activity by preventing his advances while deferring his own activity, then he will likely gain the upper hand over the long term.
(3) Supporting (protecting?) the e4 pawn with f3 maintains the center tension and allows White to defer committing to a particular plan. This allows for shuffling the pieces as needed in preparation for subsequent action. It also prepares for a potential pawn advance on the Kingside while temporarily blocking any repositioning of the heavy pieces toward the Kingside. If possible, Black should avoid giving White a mobile pawn center and open lines by capturing on e4.
Those are generalities based solely on the local (isolated) area of tension in the center. There are myriad exceptions depending on the specific distribution of pieces and the relative stage of development of both players.
I know you are intentionally ignoring the endgame implications for the time being. However, the "seeds" of the endgame are being sown by the decisions made regarding the ensuing central pawn structure. The relative position of the two Kings vis-a-vis those two pawns is critical for success of both attack and defense.
“From little seeds, great flowers grow.”