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A pawn island is one or a group of pawns separated by a file from pawns of the same side The pawns at the edges of islands are not necessarily isolated or hanging, but they are limited in the support they can get without making weakness. So, having fewer pawn islands in the endgame is…
When two pieces queue up on a file or diagonal, they more than double their power. When two Rooks join forces on a file or rank, we call them doubled. (Nilsson-Boehm, Marshall-Capablanca) You can even triple major pieces on a file. (Alekhin-Nimzowitsch, Karpov-Kasparov) A Queen and a Bishop can combine to form a powerful battery…
“Chess is a terrible game. If you have no centre, your opponent has a freer position. If you do have a centre, then you really have something to worry about!” – Siegbert TARRASCH. On an empty board, every piece controls more squares from a central square than one on the side or in a corner….
Any attack on the Queen’s-side would count, of course, but we normally expect the target to be the Queen’s-side itself, and not a King that has castled on that wing. The usual ingredients for an attack are required: more space, better mobility, and/or a bigger gang. (Janowsky-Capablanca, Capablanca-Alekhin) The minority attack is an example of…
“First restrain — then blockade — lastly, destroy!” — Aron NIMZOWITSCH A blockade is just that: a block, stopping the enemy getting past a point or a line. Fischer used it as a tactical idea against Benko Locked pawn chains are a common blockade, usually stopping both players from moving freely If there is a…
