The Opening: Pawn Structure

If you've taken a look at the information under The Opening then you've noticed that I've listed Pawn Structure as the number 9 principle to consider during the opening phase of a chess game. After painstakingly gathering advice from both old and new chess grand masters (okay I actually enjoyed doing the research) I have come to the conclusion that while I feel comfortable mentioning the pawns very last in my opening principles, I also feel that they deserve as much attention as the king, queen, rooks, knights, and bishops. I mean the pawns equate to half of your chess pieces (for those of you who cannot count:) so to play an opening that doesn't involve good pawn moves is like throwing out half of your chess game! But what can you do to improve your opening game when it comes to the pawns?

For starters you need to understand that the pawn structure you plan on building early should not interfere with the other 8 principles that we've talked about in The Opening. By now you may have realized that mobility (which is perhaps the single most important thing in a chess opening) can be restricted by your pawns. Your development of bishops and knights can also be slowed down or even stopped altogether if 1 or 2 pawn movements block these pieces on the back row from moving out onto the field. Bad pawn formations can also create opportunities for your opponent to easily check your king (or worse) or capture a rook before you can successfully castle to safety. Therefore players should avoid making careless pawn moves or simply relying on popular pawn openings that grand masters use regularly. Sure those openings have excellent pawn moves perhaps, but if a players doesn't know how to build onto that opening, he or she will fail to use the pawn structure to his or her advantage. Players should also keep in mind that your middle pawns work wonders in controlling the center of the board. They also can be used as attackers, defenders, or simply blockers all at once, which makes them an intrinsic part of the game. So do not underestimate their worth, especially in the early part of the game.


In a future article I we will go over practical ways to build your pawn structure and examine what works and what doesn't work in the opening game.