Author: Russell Reagan
Date: 20:32:14 12/23/02
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On December 23, 2002 at 19:33:50, Bas Hamstra wrote: >What is the >definition of backward pawn, in fact? A backward pawn is just one type of weak pawn. A weak pawn is a pawn that cannot be defended by other pawns, and thus requires pieces to guard it. Those pieces in turn become less active and more restricted. I think it's a better idea to avoid thinking of "backward pawns" or "isolated pawns" or "doubled pawns", but rather to focus on the weakness of the pawn structure more generally (if you're wanting a "perfect" method). For example, it would probably be better to have a function that detected whether or not a pawn was weak (unable to be defended by fellow pawns), rather than detect doubled pawns and tack on a penalty, because doubled pawns, just like isolated and backward pawns, are not always weak. I suppose since it is possible for an isolated pawn to not be weak, that a better "weak" pawn definition is "a pawn that requires the support of pieces." As with most things in chess, detecting this statically is not going to be perfect.
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