Backward pawn

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In chess, a backward pawn is a pawn that is behind the pawns of the same color on the adjacent files and that cannot be advanced without loss of material, usually the backward pawn itself.

In the diagrammed position, the Black pawn on the c6 square is backward. Backward pawns are usually a positional disadvantage, since they are hard to defend. Also, the opponent can place a piece, usually a knight, on the hole in front of the pawn without any risk of a pawn driving it away. The backward pawn also prevents the black rooks and queen on the eighth rank to attack the piece placed on the hole.

If the backward pawn is on a half-open file, as in this case, the disadvantage is much larger, as it can be more easily attacked by an opponent's rook or queen on the c-file. Pieces can become weak when they are devoted to protecting a backward pawn because they are obligated to defend the pawn and cannot be developed for other uses.

Modern opening theory features several openings where one of the players deliberately takes a backward pawn, in exchange for better development. The most notable examples are the Najdorf variation and the Sveshnikov variation of the Sicilian Defence. In these openings Black has a backward pawn on c6 in exchange for piece play and center control.

[edit] See also

• Pawn structure
• Doubled pawns
• Isolated pawn
• Connected pawns

[edit] References

• Golombek, Harry (1977), Golombek's Encyclopedia of Chess, Crown Publishing, ISBN 0-517-53146-1