The Tarrasch Defense is a chess opening characterized by the moves:
43-474: The Tarrasch is a variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined . Black's third move is an aggressive bid for central space . After White plays cxd5 and dxc5, Black will be left with an isolated pawn on d5. Such a pawn may be weak, since it can no longer be defended by other pawns, but it grants Black a foothold in the center , and Black's bishops will have unobstructed lines for development. The opening
86-482: A minority attack by means of the plan Rb1, followed by b2–b4–b5, then bxc6 in order to create a weak pawn at c6. While Black can play ...cxb5, or recapture on c6 with a piece, each of these possibilities is even less desirable than the backward pawn in the open file. For Black, exchanging at d5 has released his light-squared bishop and opened the e-file, giving him the use of e4 as a springboard for central and kingside play. While chances are balanced, Black
129-470: A rook pawn may be the wrong rook pawn , depending on the square-color of the bishop. This causes some positions to be draws that would otherwise be wins. The pawn has its origins in the oldest version of chess, chaturanga , and it is present in all other significant versions of the game as well. In chaturanga, this piece could move one square directly forward and could capture one square diagonally forward. In medieval chess, as an attempt to make
172-436: A bishop's pawn (on the c- or f-files), a queen's pawn (on the d-file), a king's pawn (on the e-file), and a central pawn (on the d- or e-files). The pawn historically represents soldiers or infantry , or more particularly, armed peasants or pikemen . Each player begins the game with eight pawns placed along their second rank. A pawn may move by vertically advancing to a vacant square ahead. The first time
215-449: A knight check, and avoiding stalemate . While some chess sets include an extra queen of each color, most standard sets do not come with additional pieces, so the physical piece used to replace a promoted pawn on the board is usually one that was previously captured. In informal games, when the correct piece is not available, an additional queen is often indicated by inverting a previously captured rook or by using different objects such as
258-489: A capture with a pawn, a player may end up with two pawns on the same file , called doubled pawns . Doubled pawns are substantially weaker than pawns that are side by side, because they cannot defend each other, they usually cannot both be defended by adjacent pawns, and the front pawn blocks the advance of the back one. In the diagram, the doubled c-pawns are a strategic disadvantage for Black. There are situations where doubled pawns confer some advantage, typically when
301-411: A die or coin. In tournament games, however, this is not acceptable; in the former case, it may result in the arbiter ruling that the upturned piece is a rook. The pawn structure , the configuration of pawns on the chessboard, mostly determines the strategic flavor of a game. While other pieces can usually be moved to more favorable positions if they are temporarily badly placed, a poorly positioned pawn
344-407: A king and three pawns, and the positions of the kings are about equal. In truth, White wins this endgame on the strength of the protected passed pawn, regardless which player moves first. The black king cannot be on both sides of the board at once – to defend the isolated h-pawn and to stop White's c-pawn from advancing to promotion. Thus White can capture the h-pawn and then win the game. After
387-417: A pawn moves, it has the additional option of vertically advancing two squares, provided that both squares are vacant. Unlike other pieces, the pawn can only move forwards. In the second diagram, the pawn on c4 can move to c5; the pawn on e2 can move to either e3 or e4. Unlike other pieces, the pawn does not capture in the same way that it moves. A pawn captures by moving diagonally forward one square to
430-433: A protected passed pawn (a passed pawn that is protected by a pawn). In this vein, a pawn majority , a greater number of pawns belonging to one player on one side of the chessboard, is strategically important because it can often be converted into a passed pawn. In the diagram, White has a protected passed pawn on c5 and Black has an outside passed pawn on h5. This position might appear roughly equal, because each side has
473-440: A solid position; the pawns on d5 and e6 give Black a foothold in the centre . The Queen's Gambit Declined has the reputation of being one of Black's most reliable defenses to 1.d4. In this situation, White will try to exploit the passivity of Black's light-squared bishop, and Black will try to release it, trade it, or prove that, while passive, the bishop has a useful defensive role. An eventual ...dxc4 by Black will surrender
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#1732790969087516-472: Is promoted to a queen, rook, bishop, or knight of the same color. The pawn is replaced by the new piece on the same move. The choice of promotion is not limited to pieces that have been captured; thus, a player could, in theory, have as many as nine queens, ten rooks, ten bishops, or ten knights on the board. Promotion to a queen is also known as queening and to any other piece as underpromotion . Reasons for underpromotion include tactical positions involving
559-837: Is a chess opening in which Black declines a pawn offered by White in the Queen's Gambit : This is known as the Orthodox Line of the Queen's Gambit Declined. When the "Queen's Gambit Declined" is mentioned, it is usually assumed to be referring to the Orthodox Line; see " Other lines " below. The Orthodox Line can be reached by a number of different move orders , such as 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5; 1.d4 e6 2.c4 d5; 1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4; 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 e6 3.d4; and so on. Playing 2...e6 releases Black's dark-squared bishop , while obstructing Black's light-squared bishop. By declining White's temporary pawn sacrifice , Black erects
602-405: Is an isolated pawn . The square in front of an isolated pawn may become an enduring weakness. Any piece placed directly in front not only blocks the advance of that pawn but also cannot be driven away by other pawns. In the diagram, Black has an isolated pawn on d5. If all the pieces except the kings and pawns were removed, the weakness of that pawn might prove fatal to Black in the endgame . In
645-527: Is limited in its movement and often cannot be so relocated. Because pawns capture diagonally and can be blocked from moving straight forward, opposing pawns can become locked in diagonal pawn chains of two or more pawns of each color, where each player controls squares of one color. In the diagram, Black and White have locked their d- and e-pawns. Here, White has a long-term space advantage. White will have an easier time than Black in finding good squares for their pieces, particularly with an eye to
688-419: Is most frequently played here, though there are other ideas of note, 9.dxc5 and 9.b3 being the main alternatives. (Other lines are 9.Be3, 9.Bf4, and 9.a3.) During the 2010's, the hitherto forgotten line 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.g3 Nc6 7.Bg2 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5 became a topic of theoretical debate at the top level mainly due to the efforts of Russian grandmaster Daniil Dubov . This approach to
731-426: Is the most numerous and weakest piece in the game of chess . It may move one square directly forward, it may move two squares directly forward on its first move, and it may capture one square diagonally forward. Each player begins a game with eight pawns, one on each square of their second rank . The white pawns start on a2 through h2; the black pawns start on a7 through h7. Individual pawns are referred to by
774-533: Is usually more or less forced to use his superior activity to launch a piece attack on White's king , as the long-term chances in the QGD Exchange structure favour White. The following games are model games for White: The Three Knights Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined is usually reached from the move order 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3, played to avoid the Nimzo-Indian Defense (from
817-405: The file on which they stand. For example, one speaks of "White's f-pawn" or "Black's b-pawn". Alternatively, they can be referred to by the piece which stood on that file at the beginning of the game, e.g. "White's king bishop's pawn" or "Black's queen knight's pawn". It is also common to refer to a rook's pawn , meaning any pawn on the a- or h-files, a knight's pawn (on the b- or g-files),
860-496: The kingside . Black, in contrast, suffers from a bad bishop on c8, which is prevented by the black pawns from finding a good square or helping out on the kingside. On the other hand, White's central pawns are somewhat overextended and vulnerable to attack. Black can undermine the white pawn chain with an immediate ...c5 and perhaps a later ...f6. Pawns on adjacent files can support each other in attack and defense. A pawn that has no friendly pawns in adjacent files
903-666: The Berlin Defense , resulting in a drawish position. This line has been played by top grandmasters such as Wesley So , Anish Giri , and Magnus Carlsen aiming for a draw. There is also the Exchange Variation where the game continues 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 cxd4 8.cxd4, which has been used by played by the likes of Ding Liren , Anish Giri , Vladimir Kramnik , and Magnus Carlsen . The Ragozin Variation ( ECO code D37–D39) occurs after black plays 4...Bb4 in
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#1732790969087946-871: The Main Variations of the Queen's Gambit Declined occurs after black plays 4...Be7 5.Bg5 in the Three Knights Variation. This variation is also a popular line. Placing the bishop on Bg5 allows Black to exchange more freely with moves like Nf6-e4, as seen in the Lasker Defence. The move Bf4 is designed to restrict Black's opportunities in this way, as well as reducing opportunities to gain the bishop pair . Play usually continues with 5...0-0 6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5. Peter Leko , usually an e4 player, used this variation as White to beat Vladimir Kramnik in their 2004 World Championship Match . Bibliography Pawn (chess) The pawn (♙, ♟)
989-495: The Queen's Gambit , even to the point of putting question marks on routine moves in all variations except the Tarrasch (which he awarded an exclamation mark) in his book Die moderne Schachpartie . (See chess punctuation .) The Tarrasch Defense is considered sound . Even if Black fails to make use of their mobility and winds up in an inferior endgame , tied to the defense of their isolated pawn, they may be able to hold
1032-536: The draw if they defend accurately. In the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings , the Tarrasch Defense has codes D32 through D34. In the main line, White will isolate Black's queen pawn with 4.cxd5 exd5 and attempt to exploit its weakness. The most common setup is to fianchetto the king's bishop in order to put pressure on the isolated d5-pawn, as 3...c5 has relinquished the possibility of protecting
1075-572: The en passant capture spread to various regions throughout its history . The en passant capture intends to prevent a pawn on its initial square from safely bypassing a square controlled by an enemy pawn. The rule for promotion has changed throughout its history . The term pawn is derived from the Old French word paon , which comes from the Medieval Latin term for " foot soldier " and is cognate with peon . In most other languages,
1118-404: The middlegame , however, Black has slightly more freedom of movement than White and may be able to trade off the isolated pawn before an endgame ensues. A pawn that cannot be blocked or captured by enemy pawns in its path to promotion is a passed pawn . Because endgames are often won by the player who can promote a pawn first, having a passed pawn in an endgame can be decisive – especially
1161-658: The Tarrasch Defense is therefore known as the Dubov Tarrasch. The Swedish Variation (also called the Folkestone Variation) is a sharp line beginning 6...c4. Black now has a four to three queenside pawn majority , and will try to expand with ...b5, with White aiming for a central break with e4. The line is considered somewhat dubious and is rarely seen in modern practice. The Swedish Variation has ECO code D33. Queen%27s Gambit Declined The Queen's Gambit Declined (or QGD )
1204-620: The Three Knights Variation. The Alekhine Variation of the Ragozin Variation occurs with 5.Qa4 Nc6 6.e3 0-0 7.Qc2. A transposition into the Vienna Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined occurs with 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4. An alternate line commonly played is 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 to avoid transposing into the Vienna. The Semi-Slav Defense occurs after black plays 4...c6 in the Three Knights Variation. A transposition into
1247-433: The centre to White, and Black will usually not do this unless Black can extract a concession, usually in the form of gaining a tempo , by capturing on c4 only after White has played Bd3 first. In the Orthodox Line, the fight for the tempo revolves around White's efforts to play all other useful developing moves prior to playing Bd3. Black will often aim for the pawn break ...c5 in this opening, which often leads to one or
1290-439: The diagonal) 7...Bb4 8.Qc2 0-0 and here 9.Bd3 ?? loses since 9...dxc4 ! (threatening ...Qxg5) 10.Bxf6 cxd3! (a zwischenzug ) 11.Qxd3 Nxf6 wins a piece for Black. After 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 c6 6.Qc2 White has a pawn majority in the centre, Black has a pawn majority on the queenside . This pawn structure gives White the opportunity to either advance his pawns in the centre by means of Nge2, f2–f3, followed by e2–e4, or play for
1333-437: The first and third began with the Queen's Gambit Declined. After 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 (3.Nf3 is a main alternative), Black's main move is 3...Nf6. Other options are: Lines beginning with the moves 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 are covered by ECO codes D35–D69. These are old lines that can transpose into many other queen pawn openings . White has several ways of dealing with Black's setup: The Cambridge Springs Defense
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1376-406: The guarding of consecutive squares in a file by the pawns prevents an invasion by the opponent's pieces. Pawns that are both doubled and isolated are typically a tangible weakness. A single piece or pawn in front of doubled isolated pawns blocks both of them, and cannot be easily dislodged. It is rare for a player to have three pawns in a file, i.e. tripled pawns. In chess endgames with a bishop,
1419-584: The highest level was Fine–Euwe, AVRO 1938. The Quiet Variation of the Vienna Variation occurs after 5.e3. The Semi-Tarrasch Variation occurs after black plays 4...c5 in the Three Knights Variation. An important line in this variation is the Endgame Line where the game continues: 5.cxd5 cxd4 6.Qxd4 exd5 7.e4 dxe4 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 where the queens get traded off in a similar fashion to the Endgame in
1462-404: The left or right, either replacing an enemy piece on its square (first diagram) or capturing en passant (second diagram). An en passant capture can occur after a pawn makes a move of two squares and the square it passes over is attacked by an enemy pawn. The enemy pawn is entitled to capture the moved pawn "in passing" as if the latter had advanced only one square. The capturing pawn moves to
1505-447: The other side accepting isolated or hanging pawns in exchange for dynamic compensation. In its broadest sense, the Queen's Gambit Declined is any variation of the Queen's Gambit in which Black does not play ...dxc4. Variations other than the Orthodox Line have their own names and are usually treated separately. Of the 34 games played in the 1927 World Championship between Alexander Alekhine and José Raúl Capablanca , all except
1548-572: The pieces more interesting, each pawn was given the name of a commoner's occupation: The most famous example of this is found in the second book ever printed in the English language, The Game and Playe of the Chesse . This book, printed by William Caxton , was viewed to be as much a political commentary on society as a chess book. The ability to move two spaces and the related ability to capture en passant were introduced in 15th-century Europe;
1591-588: The point d5 by means of ...c6. After 4.cxd5, Black may offer the Hennig–Schara Gambit with 4...cxd4. While this was once essayed by Alexander Alekhine , it has never achieved popularity at master level and is considered advantageous for White. On the third move White often plays 3.Nf3 instead (in part to avoid the Hennig–Schara Gambit), which after 3...c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 transposes to the main line. 7. Bg2 Be7 8. 0-0 0-0 In modern praxis, 9.Bg5
1634-452: The square over which the moved pawn passed, and the moved pawn is removed from the board. The option to capture the moved pawn en passant must be exercised on the move immediately following the double-step pawn advance, or it is lost for the remainder of the game. The en passant capture is the only capture in chess in which the capturing piece does not replace the captured piece on the same square. A pawn that advances to its last rank
1677-453: The term fichillín , a diminutive of ficheall ("chess") is sometimes used, though the term "ceithearnach" ("foot soldier") is also used. In Thai the pawn is called เบี้ย ( bîia ), which signifies a cowrie shell or a coin of little value. In Turkish the pawn is called piyon , borrowed from the French word Pion in the 19th century. Outside of the game of chess, "pawn"
1720-544: The white point of view) and the Exchange Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined (from the black point of view). Black has a few options in response to the Three Knights Variation. The Vienna Variation occurs after Black plays 4...dxc4 in the Three Knights Variation. The main line of the Vienna continues as 5.e4 Bb4 6.Bg5. White's pawns or pieces occupy the central squares in exchange for long-term pawn structure weaknesses. An instance of Vienna Variation played at
1763-473: The word for pawn is similarly derived from paon (e.g., pionek in Polish), its Latin ancestor or some other word for foot soldier. In some languages the term for pawn is a name meaning "peasant" or "farmer", reflecting how the lower orders were conscripted as footsoldiers in wartime: Hungarian paraszt , Slovene kmet , German Bauer , Danish/Norwegian/Swedish bonde , Latvian bandinieks . In Irish,
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1806-457: Was advocated by the German player Siegbert Tarrasch , who contended that the increased mobility Black enjoys is well worth the inherent weakness of the isolated center pawn. Although many other masters, after the teachings of Wilhelm Steinitz , rejected the Tarrasch Defense out of hand because of the pawn weakness , Tarrasch continued to play his opening while rejecting other variations of
1849-473: Was introduced more than a century ago, and is still played. (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6) 4.Bg5 Nbd7 (setting up the Elephant Trap ) 5.e3 c6 6.Nf3 Qa5, now Black intends ...Bb4 and possibly ...Ne4, with pressure along the a5–e1 diagonal. This Black defense is popular among amateurs because there are several traps White can fall into, for example 7.Nd2 (one of the main lines, countering Black's pressure along
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