15 Must Know Opening Pawn Formations

Written by Yury Markushin

Monday, 23 February 2015 00:00

The pawn structure is a factor that primarily decides how the game will progress. In order to play chess on high level, it is necessary to understand the fundamental pawn formations that arise from the openings. GM Andrew Soltis has classified major pawn formations into 22 main categories depending on the opening played. In this article we will focus on 15 most fundamental formations that every chess players must know. This is a very condensed and straight to the point material, which is definitely worth analyzing.

1. Boleslavsky Formation

Opening: Sicilian Najdorf, Classical, Sveshnikov, etc.

Type of Position: Open, dynamic

Ideas for White: Taking control of the weak d5 square, attacking d6 pawn, f2-f4 break

Ideas for Black: d6-d5 break, minority attack, controlling the c4 square

2. Caro Formation

Opening: Caro-Kann, French, Queen Gambit Declined

Type of Position: Positional, strategic maneuvering

Ideas for White: Strong outpost on e5, space advantage of the kings side, d4-d5 break,

Ideas for Black: Weak d4 pawn, c6-c5 and e6-e5 breaks.

3. Closed Sicilian Formation

Opening: Closed Sicilian, Closed English (reversed)

Type of Position: Closed

Ideas for White: kingside pawn attack, c2-c3 and d3-d4 breaks

Ideas for Black: queenside pawn attack, a1-h8 diagonal

4. d5 Pawn Chain Formation

Opening: Kings Indian, Benoni, Ruy Lopez

Type of Position: Closed

Ideas for White: Queenside space advantage, c2-c4-c5 break, f2-f4 break.

Ideas for Black: Kingside attack, f7-f5 break, c7-c6 break.

Note: In order to develop a positional understanding it is necessary to go over the annotated GM chess games, and to think why certain moves were made. Only when you put yourself in the the player's shoes you will be able to fully understand the problems he was facing in the game and your will be able to improve you own chess. That's exactly what you can do by studying our training course.

5. Dragon Formation

Opening: Sicilian Dragon, English (reversed)

Type of Position: Razor Sharp

Ideas for White: Outpost on d5, kingside attack, f2-f4-f5 break or h2-h4-h5 break.

Ideas for Black: Control of long diagonal, queenside attack

6. e5 Pawn Chain Formation

Opening: French

Type of Position: Closed, semi-closed, sharp game

Ideas for White: Kings side attack, f2-f4-f5 break

Ideas for Black: Breaks via c7-c5 and f7-f6

7. Hanging Pawn Formation

Opening: Queens Gambit Declined, Queens Indian Defense

Type of Position: Open

Ideas for White: Opening center, kings side attack

Ideas for Black: Forcing advance, weakening the pawns

8. Hedgehog Formation

Opening: English, Sicilian

Type of Position: Closed, semi open

Ideas for White: e4-e5 break, supported by f2-f4

Ideas for Black: Opening the center via d5

9. Isolani Formation

Opening: Queens Gambit, French

Type of Position: Open

Ideas for White: d4-d5 break, attack at the center, outpost on e5, kingside attack

Ideas for Black: blockade, transitioning to the endgame

10. Maroczy Formation

Opening: Sicilian

Type of Position: Semi-open

Ideas for White: Fianchettoing of bishops, kingside attack, c4-c5 and e4-e5 breaks

Ideas for Black: b7-b5 break, f7-f5 beak, d6-d5 break

11. Orthodox Formation

Opening: Queens Gambit Declined. Caro-Kann (reversed)

Type of Position: Semi-open

Ideas for White: Minority attack, e3-e4 break

Ideas for Black: e4 outpost, kingside attack

12. Rauzer Formation

Opening: Kings Indian, Old Indian (reversed), Ruy Lopez (reversed)

Type of Position: Semi-open

Ideas for White: Weak d6 square, c4-c5 break, a3-f8 diagonal, queenside attack

Ideas for Black: Weak d4, a1-h8 diagonal, kings side attack

13. Scheveningen Formation

Opening: Sicilian (different variations)

Type of Position: sharp

Ideas for White: Pressure on d-file, space, e4-e5 break, f2-f4-f5 push

Ideas for Black: Pressure on c-file, minority attack, d6-d5 break

14. Slav Formation

Opening: Slav, Catalan, Grunfeld, Colle.

Type of Position: positional

Ideas for White: Pressure on c-file, d4-d5 break

Ideas for Black: e6-e5 break and c6-c5 break

15. Stonewall Formation

Opening: Dutch, Colle, English

Type of Position: Closed, symmetric

Ideas for White: Outpost on e5, exchange of bad bishops

Ideas for Black: Outpost on e4, exchange of bad bishops

Note: Middle-game is no doubt a very important part of chess. If you want to improve your general chess level simply working on the middle-game is not enough. If you aim for a dramatic improvement at chess you need to work on all of the elements of chess: