Which Pawn Should You Push Now?

Good day, ChessKids! I hope you've been practicing! You know that whenever you move a pawn, the game changes fundamentally. That's because pawns never go backward (duh Tongue Out).

You also know you should push center pawns in the opening. (The c-,d-, and e-pawns are great choices.)

But what about later in the game?

Below you will discover which pawn to push, based on what your pieces are telling you (in the middle game), where your opponent's targets are, and which one can promote (in the endgame)!

Let's look at an example.

Here, White has two ways to open the position. Remember, to open a position, trade pawns. 

White could try f4 or a4. This game took place between two greats: Miguel Najdorf and Bobby Fischer. Can you believe Fischer lost?! Read the analysis to see the difference between these two moves. What would you choose?
 

 

Do you see the tactic? Why did Black resign? After a positional success, a tactical one usually follows!
 

 


Now you try! Here is a game that happened the other day, with two super GMs at the strongest chess tournament in history, the Sinquefield Cup in St Louis, Missouri.

Fabiano Caruana is dominating this event, and will probably win the first place prize of $100,000! (The field includes World Champion Magnus Carlsen!)

image from chessbase

You want to activate your dark-squared bishop and prevent White from playing Bg3. Which pawn should you push: b5 or f5?
 

 
Awesome! That was a GM move, you guys!
 
Here is how the game went, annotated by Ben Finegold, if you want to see how Caruana pulled the whole thing off!

 
 
 
Now when you get to the endgame: majority rules! For simplicity's sake, here is an easy endgame.
 
When you have a pawn majority, push your "candidate" pawn. That's the pawn that runs! (White will win almost no matter what, considering the position of the kings...but the fastest way is?)

 
 
 
Your turn! Let's look at another amazing Caruana win. This time against number two in the world, Levon Aronian!
 
Where does White have a pawn majority?
 
 
 
 
Watch how Caruana's majority flies all the way down the board!
 
 
 
 
That's it for today, kids! Remember to push passed pawns and talk to your pieces.
 
It's the little pawns who'll let the long-range pieces get out and attack! 
 
Do you think Caruana will win the tournament? See you next week! 
 
You can ask BoundingOwl (Mrs. Jessica E. Prescott) questions here.

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