They’ve been called “the soul of chess,” and there sure is a lot to consider about the smallest, least valuable piece on the board. Pawns are the piece with the most potential and can be a literal game changer!
Endings are all about passed pawns. What are passed pawns, how do you use them, and what is their importance?
FM Mike Kleing shows you three ways that pawns can be as strong as any piece on the board...and the exact opposite, when pawns are weaklings.
What should you do when a pawn attacks your pawns: stay, push, or capture?
It's not common, but sometimes the winning idea is not to promote your pawn to a queen, but to sneakily underpromote to a knight, bishop, or rook.
Isolated pawns are an important part of chess strategy. Learn everything you need to know about these pawns without neighbors on either file.
Doubled pawns are usually big weaknesses. Learn all about the problems caused by doubled pawns and the rare times they can be OK for you.
Pawn Play: Backwards Pawns & Outpost Squares
To move forward, sometimes you have to go backward.
Pawn "chains" are when a series of pawns protect each other on a diagonal. Learn how to use and how to attack pawn chains.
Sometimes you have a lot of pieces that could attack your opponent's king, but it is in a cozy house surrounded by pawns. What do you do then?
There are many times in the opening where the queen is aiming at your poisoned b-pawn, but you can simply let her take the poison!
A group of pawns coming down on your opponent can be a great force. The pawns can drive enemy pieces away, open lines, or even promote to a new queen.
Hanging pawns are a common type of structure where there are two pawns, side-by-side, on open files.
Watch and see how some of the most creative player in history use a collection of little pawns to overcome a bigger piece!
A pawn on the sixth (or third) rank is known as a "wedge pawn." From such an advanced position it can restrict the opponent's mobility, while creating various tactical threats.
An odd thing about pawn structures is that sometimes a smaller number of pawns can be used to attack a greater number. There are specific patterns for using a minority of pawns to create weaknesses in the opponent's pawn structure. This is called the "minority attack."