Chess Online

Play online chess!

From	Message
coopershawk 13-Mar-11, 10:26	Pawn break-throughs --- for beginners It might be useful for some people if we post some classic methods on how one line of pawns can break through another. I will work on it this week, but I invite other club members to join in the project and post their own ideas. Mine are fairly simplistic.
coopershawk 13-Mar-11, 10:44	If one side has a majority. First simple example. If you have a pawn majority on one side, say three pawns in a row facing two pawns in a row, the rule is simple. Advance in your pawns in a line side by side, but always leading with the pawn that has a clear file in front. So from this position: White should advance his f pawn, like this: Black has no good options. If black takes the f pawn then white retakes and has a clear path to promotion. If black doesn't take the f pawn, then white pushes the pawn and has a clear path to promotion. Simple, but extremely effective. Obviously the effect becomes more complicated when other pieces are on the board or the kings are closer, but the concept does not change.
coopershawk 13-Mar-11, 10:49	Next simple example Try this one. It's only slightly more complicated, and follows the same principle. White to move and force a break through the pawns. Here is the fen in case you want to paste it on to a practice board and play around with it to see if you can make it more complex. 8/8/k4p1p/8/K4PPP/8/8/8 w - - I know this is very simple for most of you and will try to follow up with more complex situations. Feel free to jump in and add your own examples of any level of difficulty.
coopershawk 13-Mar-11, 20:49	Same theme Here is my solution. White advances his g pawn, and no matter what black does, white is going to get a passed pawn. Black to move.
coopershawk 13-Mar-11, 20:59	A little more complicated. OK, I know the first two questions were too easy. Here is another one that is a little more complicated, but everyone should have it memorized. I know for sure that some of you know it without having to think about it for even one second. White to move and break-through to promote a pawn. Here is the fen for you to use to set up a practice board, and a diagram showing what the fen will generate. 8/5ppp/8/5PPP/k7/8/K7/8 w - -
coopershawk 13-Mar-11, 21:22	Hint The row of white pawns must be on the 5th rank, otherwise a black pawn will be promoted on the same move, or first.
blueshrimper 14-Mar-11, 13:09	Beginners? I wish you hadn't called it "Pawn break-throughs --- for beginners", I'm struggling already with the third example. I wonder if I will be able to crack this before anyone comes up with the answer.
coopershawk 16-Mar-11, 20:10	hint The kings are not involved. White's first move is g6. Black's response is more or less forced. He must take with either the h or f pawn, or he loses quickly. Then white's second move is the one that is hard to "see." But you can get it by the process of elimination, even if you don't white's third move right away, because the correct second move is the only move that does not quickly lead to the pawns being easily locked up by black.
gcah2006 11-Jul-11, 13:46	I'm going to solve it because I feel like I should. The first move is g6, as said. If black takes with the f-pawn (fxg6), white pushes his h-pawn to h6. If black takes with the h-pawn, white pushes his f-pawn. White should push with his opposite wide pawn to breakthrough. This is sort of how I started playing at a school chess club - we would set up just the pawns on the 2nd and 7th ranks with no other pieces, and the winner would be the first to promote a pawn. It helps a lot to work out the function of the pawns.
coopershawk 11-Jul-11, 22:08	Thanks Gavin You are right of course. The solution varies depending on Black's moves, but it might go something like this. 1. g6 hxg6 2. f6 gxf6 3. h6 I will post some more puzzles this week.
coopershawk 12-Jul-11, 21:15	More pawn endgames Here are some more complex exercises with Pawn endgames. www.chesscafe.com

GameKnot: play chess online, online chess puzzles, free online chess games database, monthly chess tournaments, Internet chess league, chess teams, chess clubs and more.