Exploiting Favorable Pawn Tension
24 Jun '22 18:41This article will explore how to exploit favorable pawn tension.
What is pawn tension?
Pawn tension refers to a situation where there is a pair of pawns in which each pawn is in the other pawn's capture zone.
When is pawn tension favorable?
Favorable pawn tension is where only the opponent is constrained from resolving the pawn tension (such as by exchanging pawns).
The following offshoot of a recent Red Hot Pawn game provides an example.
Black has sacrificed a knight in order to attack White's king, and there is tension between the pawns at e3 and f4.
It's White's move. Would exf4... now be playable?
No, because after exf4 Bxd4, Black would have regained the piece and White would have no adequate way to prevent ...Qg3+; Kh1 Bxf2 (threatening ...Qh3 mate). This makes the pawn tension unfavorable for White.
If it were Black's move, would ...fxe3 now be playable?
It might be, because after Bxe3..., Black would retain attacking chances. However, given that the pawn tension is unfavorable for White, it would behoove Black to postpone exchanging pawns until she has posted her pieces so as to best exploit the opening of lines resulting from a pawn exchange.
Does Black have a threat in this position?
Yes, ...f3, after which White could prevent mate at g2 only by giving up his queen.
If White were to play Qf3... (leading to the following diagram), would that consolidate?
No, because Black could reply ...fxe3!
Black's unsheathed rook would not only attack White's queen but hit f2 by "x-ray." If now Qxh3..., then ...exf2+ followed by ...fxe1(Q) would put Black ahead in material.
Would White have a way to evade the threats along the f-file?
Yes, by Qxe3... (leading to the following diagram).
Black doesn't have time to take at d4 because her queen is hanging. Can Black nonetheless regain the piece?
Yes, by ...Qg4+, which safeguards the queen while retaining the double attack on White's knight (as depicted in the next diagram).
What should White reply?
Moving the king to the h-file would permit ...Bxd4, again with an x-ray against the f2 square (except along a diagonal rather than a file). So, Qg3... seems forced (leading to the following diagram).
Black's queen is again attacked. What should Black play?
Black would trade by ...Qxg3+; fxg3 and then regain the piece by ...Bxd4+, which would then win at least a pawn. (See the next diagram for the position after ...Bxd4+.)
Returning to the stem position,
we've established that Qf3... would be inadequate. Could White prevent ...f3 by any other means?
Yes, by playing f3... (leading to the following position).
This concedes a perpetual check by ...Qg3+; Kh1 ...Qh3+. Does Black have better?
As noted earlier, Black should try to deploy her pieces so that they might take advantage of the lines opened by the pawn exchange when it does happen. What lines would those be?
The f-file is one, and the h2/b8 diagonal is another. Black already has a rook on that file but no piece on that diagonal.
This suggests ...Be5 (leading to the following position).
Would Black have a threat?
Yes, ...fxe3, which would remove a guard of White's knight while threatening mate at h2.
Would exf4... now be a viable defense?
No, because after exf4 Bxd4+, White's queen would be lost. (If White interposes something at e3, Black's bishop captures that piece with check, followed by ...Rxd1.)
How should Black answer Re2... (instead of exf4...),
hoping to stall the attack by returning an exchange?
Re2... can be answered by ...Bxe2; Qxe2 Rxd4!, because after exd4 Bxd4+, White would have to give up his queen.
Conclusion
When you have favorable pawn tension, try to postpone resolving it until you have deployed your pieces so that they can best exploit the lines that will be opened by the pawns' being exchanged.
(A list of the threads I've initiated at this forum is available at http://www.davidlevinchess.com/chess/RHP_my_threads.htm .)
What is pawn tension?
Pawn tension refers to a situation where there is a pair of pawns in which each pawn is in the other pawn's capture zone.
When is pawn tension favorable?
Favorable pawn tension is where only the opponent is constrained from resolving the pawn tension (such as by exchanging pawns).
The following offshoot of a recent Red Hot Pawn game provides an example.
Black has sacrificed a knight in order to attack White's king, and there is tension between the pawns at e3 and f4.
It's White's move. Would exf4... now be playable?
No, because after exf4 Bxd4, Black would have regained the piece and White would have no adequate way to prevent ...Qg3+; Kh1 Bxf2 (threatening ...Qh3 mate). This makes the pawn tension unfavorable for White.
If it were Black's move, would ...fxe3 now be playable?
It might be, because after Bxe3..., Black would retain attacking chances. However, given that the pawn tension is unfavorable for White, it would behoove Black to postpone exchanging pawns until she has posted her pieces so as to best exploit the opening of lines resulting from a pawn exchange.
Does Black have a threat in this position?
Yes, ...f3, after which White could prevent mate at g2 only by giving up his queen.
If White were to play Qf3... (leading to the following diagram), would that consolidate?
No, because Black could reply ...fxe3!
Black's unsheathed rook would not only attack White's queen but hit f2 by "x-ray." If now Qxh3..., then ...exf2+ followed by ...fxe1(Q) would put Black ahead in material.
Would White have a way to evade the threats along the f-file?
Yes, by Qxe3... (leading to the following diagram).
Black doesn't have time to take at d4 because her queen is hanging. Can Black nonetheless regain the piece?
Yes, by ...Qg4+, which safeguards the queen while retaining the double attack on White's knight (as depicted in the next diagram).
What should White reply?
Moving the king to the h-file would permit ...Bxd4, again with an x-ray against the f2 square (except along a diagonal rather than a file). So, Qg3... seems forced (leading to the following diagram).
Black's queen is again attacked. What should Black play?
Black would trade by ...Qxg3+; fxg3 and then regain the piece by ...Bxd4+, which would then win at least a pawn. (See the next diagram for the position after ...Bxd4+.)
Returning to the stem position,
we've established that Qf3... would be inadequate. Could White prevent ...f3 by any other means?
Yes, by playing f3... (leading to the following position).
This concedes a perpetual check by ...Qg3+; Kh1 ...Qh3+. Does Black have better?
As noted earlier, Black should try to deploy her pieces so that they might take advantage of the lines opened by the pawn exchange when it does happen. What lines would those be?
The f-file is one, and the h2/b8 diagonal is another. Black already has a rook on that file but no piece on that diagonal.
This suggests ...Be5 (leading to the following position).
Would Black have a threat?
Yes, ...fxe3, which would remove a guard of White's knight while threatening mate at h2.
Would exf4... now be a viable defense?
No, because after exf4 Bxd4+, White's queen would be lost. (If White interposes something at e3, Black's bishop captures that piece with check, followed by ...Rxd1.)
How should Black answer Re2... (instead of exf4...),
hoping to stall the attack by returning an exchange?
Re2... can be answered by ...Bxe2; Qxe2 Rxd4!, because after exd4 Bxd4+, White would have to give up his queen.
Conclusion
When you have favorable pawn tension, try to postpone resolving it until you have deployed your pieces so that they can best exploit the lines that will be opened by the pawns' being exchanged.
(A list of the threads I've initiated at this forum is available at http://www.davidlevinchess.com/chess/RHP_my_threads.htm .)
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