Understanding before Moving 80: Pawn Majorities (4)

by ChessBase
5/22/2022 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books about chess training and chess strategy. In the 80th instalment of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving", Herman continues to talk about pawn majorities. | Photo: Pascal Simon

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Because knowledge and understanding of pawn structures is important when evaluating a  position, we again look, as in the previous three shows, at positions in which one of the two players has a (mobile) pawn majority on a particular wing.

In  the diagram position, which is from a game between Sergey Rublevsky and Anatoly Karpov, Polanica Zdroj, Rubinstein Memorial 1998, we see that White has a majority on the queen's wing that can be brought forward quickly. Black's majority, however, is firmly blocked and Black's weak black squares on the long diagonal are striking.

Apart from the pawn majority, White can also create an entry point on d6 (with c4-c5) which would allow White to take control of the d-line. Moreover, White has opportunities on the long diagonal a1-h8.

In the game White used his strategic advantages systematically. How did he further constrain Black's activity and how can he strengthen his position even further?

 

 

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