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A Pawn chain consists of pawns placed on the same diagonal, without interruption, so that only one of them is undefended. That pawn is called a base of pawn chain. The player opposing the pawn chain should attack its base or else strive to exchange pawns being parts of the chain. The old chess theory warned against attacking the peak of the chain, but some lines of the French defense show that this strategy is perfectly applicable.

Chain Direction

As pointed out by Lyudmil Tsvetkov, the direction of a rammed pawn at least triple chain with its peak pretends the wing concerning piece attacks and king safety issues [1]. In the left diagram, omitting pieces but assuming middlegame, the black king should receive a penalty, in the color flipped position on the right, the white king accordantly [2]:
external image 6K1%20w%20-%20-&size=medium&coord=yes&cap=no&stm=no&fb=no&theme=classic&color1=E3CEAA&color2=635147&color3=000000

external image 6K1%20b%20-%20-&size=medium&coord=yes&cap=no&stm=no&fb=no&theme=classic&color1=E3CEAA&color2=635147&color3=000000
6k1/5p2/4p3/3pP3/2pP4/2P5/8/6K1 w - -

6k1/8/2p5/2Pp4/3Pp3/4P3/5P2/6K1 b - -
Further, an open backward straggler is a weak base of the chain.

See also


Forum Posts

2014

2015


External Links


References

  1. ^ Re: Huge simplification by Lyudmil Tsvetkov, CCC, April 26, 2014
  2. ^ Re: Huge simplification by Lyudmil Tsvetkov, CCC, April 26, 2014

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