Level

The member of a pawn majority which doesn’t have an opposing pawn in front of it, and is a likely passed pawn I sometimes call them princesses: maybe a Queen one day!

A Pawn which cannot be blocked or captured by an enemy pawn on its way to the promotion square Usually very dangerous! (Fischer-Berliner) But can be blockaded (XX) or played around (Tartakower-Denker) Click […] to see list of games

A weakness is typically a pawn that can be attacked (Chekhover-Rudakowsky) or a square that can be used (a hole or outpost) (Smyslov-Rudakowsky) [Sorry, Master Rudakowsky!] The King’s position can be weak, when an attack is more likely to succeed (Tarrasch-Mieses) The principle of two weaknesses in the endgame says that one weakness may not…

A pawn island is one or a group of pawns separated by a file from pawns of the same side The pawns at the edges of islands are not necessarily isolated or hanging, but they are limited in the support they can get without making weakness. So, having fewer pawn islands in the endgame is…

A pawn that cannot be protected by a neighbouring pawn, not even by advancing, and so, a likely weakness (Chekhover-Rudakowsky, Pillsbury-Mason) We often see backward pawns in the Sicilian Defence, where, as part of a strong position, they are not so weak (Zinn-Sveshnikov) Click […] to see list of games

“Deux fous gagnent toujours, mais trois fous, non!” — Alexander ALEKHIN on the advantage of the Two Bishops at amateur level The French for Bishop is fou (fool) (so the player who had the two Fools (Bishops) was the third Fool) If you take away nothing else from this page, please remember: [b]there are very…

Not isolated, but semi-detached — a small island where both pawns are loose They are weak and can be attacked (Fischer-Spassky), but central hanging pawns can dominate space (Bertok-Fischer, Sokolsky-Botvinnik) Click […] to see list of games

“An isolated Pawn spreads gloom over the whole chess board” — Xsavery TARTAKOWER A Pawn with no pawns of the same side on neighbouring files Such a pawn can always be protected by pieces, and so may be a weakness Isolated Queen’s Pawns (IQPs) are a special case, where the owner of the IQP has…

King safety is the most important thing on the chessboard — ignore it and you will get mated! Kings are unsafe if they are stuck: uncastled in the centre (Wojciechowski-Weiss, Alekhin-Nimzowitsch) castled but exposed or in a weakened position (Liubarski-Soultanbieff) castled but outnumbered (Kasparov-Marjanovic) Ian Nepomniachtchi’s success in the 2022 Candidate’s Tournament was marked by…

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” — PROVERB “This (move) reduces all of White’s attacking prospects. Petrosian has a knack of snuffing out such dreams twenty moves before they even enter his opponent’s head!” — Bobby FISCHER Prophylaxis is a fancy way of saying prevention. It’s another idea popularised by Nimzowitsch…