Pawn Structures

Question 1

Isolani - Queen’s Gambit

Answer 1

https://imgur.com/F17U6ML

Openings: Queen’s Gambit

French, Sicilian Alapin, Symmetrical English, Caro-Kann, Nimzo-Indian, Slav.

Character: Open Game

Themes for W: d4-d5 break, sacrifice of the isolani, outpost on e5, kingside attack.

Themes for B: Blockading the isolani, trading pieces for a favorable endgame

Question 2

Isolani - Giuoco Piano

Answer 2

https://imgur.com/ewfg3n3

Openings: Giuoco Piano

French (Steiner, Exchange), Rui Lopez(Berlin), Petrov, King’s English, French (R), Alapin (R)

Character: Open Game

Themes for W:

Thems for B: Blockading the isolani, trading pieces for a favorable endgame.

Question 3

Maróczy Bind

Answer 3

https://imgur.com/RxYhI4e

Openings: Sicilian, King’s Indian Defence

Symmetrical English, King’s English (R), Queen’s Indian Defence, Nimzo-Indian Defence.

Themes for W: Nd4-c2-e3, fianchettoing one or both bishops, the Maróczy hop(Nc3-d5 followed by e4xd5 with terrific pressure on the e-file), kingside attack, c4-c5 and e4-e5 breaks.

Themes for B: b7-b5 break, f7-f5 break (especially with a fianchettoed king’s bishop), d6–d5 break (prepared with …e7-e6).

Question 4

Sicilian - Scheveningen

Answer 4

https://imgur.com/hViVEcv

Openings: Sicilian (Najdorf, Richter-Rauzer, Sozin), Scheveningen, and other Sicilian

King’s English (R)

Character: Complex, dynamic, sharp middlegame

Themes for W: Pressure on the d-file, space advantage, e4-e5 break (often prepared with f2-f4), f2-f4-f5 push, g2-g4-g5 blitz.

Themes for B: Pressure on the c-file, minority attack on the queenside, pressure on whites pawn on e4 or e5, d6-d5 break, e6-e5 transposing into the Boleskavsky hole

*It is often unwise for W to exchange a piece on c6 allowing the recapture bxc6, because the phalanx of Black’s center pawns becomes very strong.

Question 5

Stone Wall

Answer 5

https://imgur.com/dVJG0he

Openings: Dutch Defence

Colle System, Bird’s Opening (R)

Character: Closed Game, uncomplicated strategy.

Themes: Exchanging the bad bishop, e4/e5 outposts, breaks on the c and g files

*Players must carefully consider how to recapture on the e4/e5 square, since it alters the symmetric pawn formation and creates strategic subtleties.

Question 6

Botvinnik System

Answer 6

https://imgur.com/YIWexLM

Openings: English, Dutch, King’s Indian Attack

Sicilian (Closed, Moscow), Vienna Game, Bishop’s Opening

Character: Closed Game, uncomplicated strategy

Themes: Exchanging the bad bishop, d4/d5 outposts, breaks on the b and f files.

• This structure appears in one of Botvinnik’s treatments of the English. Players must carefully consider how to recapture on the d4/d5 square, since it alters the symmetric pawn formation and creates strategic subtleties. Adding the typical White fianchetto of the king’s bishop to this structure provides significant pressure along the long diagonal, and usually prepares the f2-f4-f5 break.

Question 7

Panov

Answer 7

https://imgur.com/RXB6zFU

Openings: Queen’s Gambit Declined, Caro-Kann

QGD Tarrasch Defence (R), Symmetrical English, Symmetrical English (R)

Character: Semi-Open, Dynamic Game

Themes for W: Exploiting the dark squares, d6 outpost, queenside majority in the endgame, with an advanced pawn.

Themes for B: e4 outpost, kingside attack, White’s overextended pawn, e6-e5 and b7-b5 breaks.

Question 8

Closed Sicilian

Answer 8

https://imgur.com/v7qaYvK

Openings: Closed Sicilian

English (R)

Character: Closed, Complicated Position

Themes for W: Kingside pawn storm, c2-c3 and d3-d4 break

Themes for B: queenside pawn storm, a1-h8 diagonal

Question 9

Caro

Answer 9

https://imgur.com/hfhEz12

Openings: Caro Kann

French, Scandinavian, Trompowsky (R), Alekhine’s

Character: Slow-Paced Game

Themes for W: Outpost on e5, kingside space advantage, d4-d5 break, posibility of queenside majority in the endgame (typically after the exchange of White’s d-pawn for Black’s c-pawn).

Themes for B: Weakness of the d4 pawn, …c6-c5 and …e6-e5 breaks. The latter break is usually preferable, but harder for Black to achieve.

Question 10

Slav

Answer 10

https://imgur.com/nBnl0cO

Openings: Slav

Catalan, QGA, QGD, Nimzo Indian, Colle System (R), London System (R), Trompowsky (R)

Character: Slow-Paced Game

Themes for W: Pressure on the c-file, weakenss of Black’s c-pawn (either after Black’s …b7-b5 or after d4-d5xc6 in response to …e6-e5), d4-d5 break.

Themes for B: e6-e5 and c6-c5 breaks.

Question 11

Hanging Pawns

Answer 11

https://imgur.com/F73qwAm

Openings: GBD

Queen’s Indian Defense, Symmetrical English, Alapin

Character: Open Game

Themes for W: Line oening advance in the center, kingside attack.

Themes for B: Forcing a pawn advance and blockading the pair, conversion to isolani

*Like the isolani, the hanging pawns are a structural weakness but with them usually comes increased piece activity to compensate. The play revolves around Black trying to force one of the pawns to advance. If Black can establish a permanent blockade the game is positionally won. On the other hand, White aims to keep the pawns hanging, trying to generate a kingside attack leveraging off of their superior center control. Other themes for White include tactical possibilities and line opening breaks in the center.

Question 12

Rauzer

Answer 12

https://imgur.com/JecJaUg

Openings: King’s Indian, Old Indian (R), Ruy Lopez, Italian Game

Ruy Lopez (R), Italian Game (R), Sicilian Kramnik

Chcaracter: Semi-Open Game

Themes for W: d6 weakness, c4-c5 push, a3-f8 diagonal, queenside pawn storm.

Themes for B: d4 weakness, a1-h8 diagonal, f4 square, kingside attack, trading pieces for a superior endgame

*It is considered to give Black excellent chances because d6 is much less of a hole than White’s d4. If the black king’s bishop is fianchettoed it is common to see it undeveloped to f8 to control the vital c5 and d6squares, or remove White’s dark squared bishop, the guardian of the hole.

Question 13

Modern Benoni

Answer 13

https://imgur.com/jWxJnBW

Openings: Modern Benoni, Queen’s Indian Defence, King’s Indian Defence Modern Defence, Ruy Lopez, Italian Game

Trampowsky, Ruy Lopez (R), Italian Game (R), Réti (R), King’s Indian Attack (R), Sicilian Defence (Moscow, Rossolimo)

Character: Semi-Open Game

Themes for W: Central pawn majority, e4-e5 break

Themes for B: Queenside pawn majority.

Question 14

Carlsbad

Answer 14

https://imgur.com/c1pHVuk

Openings: QGD

Caro Kann (R), Colle System (R), London (R)

Character: Semi-Open Game

Themes for W: Minority Attack, e3-e4 break

Themes for B: e4 outpost, kingside attack

Question 15

Hedgehog

Answer 15

https://imgur.com/aQlDbEG

Openings: Symmetrical English, Sicilian

King’s English (R), King’s Indian Defence (Sämisch), Queen’s Indian Defence, Nimzo-Indian Defence

Character: Closed, Semi-Open Game

The Hedgehog is a formation similar to the Maróczy bind, and shares the strategic ideas with that formation. Typically, the Maróczy bind would transpose into the Hedgehog formation.

Question 16

e5 chain

Answer 16

https://imgur.com/bmxnZFt

Openings: French

Nimzowitsch, Trompowsky, Caro Kann, Bogo-Indian, London System, Colle system, Sicilian (Rossolimo, Alapin, Closed, O’Kelly), Nimzo-Larsen Attack (R)

Character Closed/Semi-Open but sharp game

Themes for W: Kingside mating attack, f2-f4-f5 break

Themes for B: Exchanging the hemmed-in queen’s bishop, c7-c5 and f7-f6 breaks.

*Due to White’s kingside space advantage and development advantage, Black must generate counterplay or be mated. Novices often lose to the sparkling Greek gift sacrifice.

**If White exchanges with d4xc5 it is called the Wedge formation. White gets an outpost on d4 and the possibility of exploiting the dark squares while Black gets an overextended e5 pawn to work on.

Question 17

Sicilian - Boleslavsky Hole

Answer 17

https://imgur.com/vanB1QC

Openings: Sicilian (Najdorf, Classical, Sveshnikov, Kalashnikog)

Sicilian (Prins, Moscow, O’Kelly (2…a6), King’s English(R))

Character: Open, Dynamic Game

Themes for W: Taking control of the d5 hole, exploiting the backward d6 pawn, f2-f4 break

Themes for B: d6-d5 break, queenside minority attack, the c4 square

*The entire game revolves around control of the d5-square.

**Black must play very carefully or White will place a knight on d5 and obtain a commanding positional advantage.

***Unusually for an open formation, bishops become inferior to knights because of the overarching importance of d5.

Question 18

d5 chain

Answer 18

https://imgur.com/Le1pFzT

Openings: King’s Indian, Pirc, Philidor

Benoni, Ruy Lopze, Trompowsky, English, Italian GAme, Four Knights Game (Scotch Variation)

Character: Closed Game with opposite side activity.

Themes for W: Massive queenside space advantage, c2-c4-c5 break (optionally prepared with b2-b4), prophylaxis with …g2-g4 (after f2-f3), f2-f4 break

Themes for B: kingside attack, f7-f5 break, g7-g5-g4 break (after f2-f3), c7-c6 break, prophylaxis with ..c6-c5 or …c7-c5 transposing to a full Benoni formation.

*The theme is a race for a breakthrough on opposite flanks – Black must try to whip up a kingside attack before White’s heavy pieces penetrate with devastating effect on the c-file.

Question 19

Dragon

Answer 19

https://imgur.com/3yUXAGf

Openings: Sicilian Dragon

King’s English(R)

Character: Either a razor sharp middlegame with opposite side castling or a moderately sharp game with same side castling.

Themes for W: Outpost on d5, kingside attack (either f2-f4-f5 with kingside castling or h2-h4-h5 with queenside castling), weakness of Black’s queenside pawn minority in the endgame

Themes for B: Pressure on the long diagonal, queenside counterplay, exploiting White’s often overextended kingside pawns in the endgame.

*Common Attack: Yugoslav Attack

Question 20

Boleslavsky Wall

Answer 20

https://imgur.com/QiB4UCL

Openings: King’s Indian

English, Pirc, Ruy Lopez, Philidor, Italian Game

Character: Semi-open game, slow buildup.

Themes for W: exploitation of d6 weakness, e4-e5 and c4-c5 breaks, minority attack with …b2-b4-b5.

Themes for B: Attacking the e4 and c4 pawns, d6-d5 and f7-f5 breaks, queenside play with …a7-a5-a4.

*Occurs after exchange of pawns on d4.

**The wall is yet another structure that leaves Black with a d-pawn weakness, but prevents White from taking control of the center and gives Black active piece play and an opportunity to play on either side of the board.