Author: Gerd Isenberg
Date: 10:54:38 04/30/02
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IMHO weak pawns lost the ability to get defended by own pawns. They are even weaker if they are easy attackable by pieces. So isolated pawns may and backward pawns are weak. If these pawns have no enemy pawn(s) in front of them (halfopen file), they are even weaker, except an isolani is an advanced passer. I'm not sure about the exact definition or english terms of backward pawns. The austrian chess master H.Kmoch uses the german terms "Hinker" for "real" backward pawns on halfopen files but "getarnter Hinker" for "hidden (masked)" backward pawns on closed files. (H.Kmoch "Die Kunst der Bauernführung"). I also use some kind of "semi" backward pawn definition. They may go one or even two steps foreward, but are backward after than - now they can't step further without being captured by enemy pawn(s). But special care, if backwards stay on the fifth (from white point of view) rank, specially if they defend an own pawn on the sixth rank, blocked by an enemy pawn, the guard, which is the reason of the backwardness. May be sacrificing the backward may force an far advanced own passer. An open duo pawn may also considered backward, if some conditions hit. If there are two enemy guard pawns but only one defending (the other duo half) and no potential pawn defenders on the other neighboared file. Another kind of weakness measurement as a penalty should be some average rank distance between pawns of one colour on adjacent files. Doubled pawns may also weak, but if they are neither isolated or backward, the penalty is much less, but slightly more if the front is open. You should also consider some kind of progressive increase, depending on the number of weak pawns. Gerd
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