USE YOUR PAWNS! Pawn Play Explained | Chess Strategy Deep Dive

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The previous episode in this series Chess Strategy Deep Dive:    • How To Fix Bad Pieces in Chess! - Che...  

00:00 Introduction
01:00 Not Awakening the Enemy Pieces
02:56 Retrieval Practice/Awakening Your Own Pieces
03:56 Rotating the Board/Multi-Purpose Moves
06:02 Wrong Recapture Which Awakens a Buried Knight
06:52 Burying an Enemy Knight
07:38 Positional Pawn Sacrifice
09:19 Is that Pawn a Weakness or Strength?
11:42 Homework

This video highlights the tight link between pawns and pieces in chess. Pawn play almost always connects to piece activity and restriction in chss. When you make a pawn move, you must ask yourself a couple of useful questions:

1) Am I helping any of my pieces by pushing this pawn?
2) Am I helping any of the enemy pieces by pushing this pawn?

These simple guidelines will serve you greatly in improving your pawn play. This video illustrates these by showing instructive examples.

Sometimes you make a pawn move and that pawn buries an enemy piece. Sometimes you make a multi-purpose pawn move that not only activates your own pieces but also buries an enemy piece. Sometimes you voluntarily accept a weak pawn which is limiting an enemy piece. We generally should prioritize piece activity above pawn structure in chess.