As I mentioned a number of times on this blog, I read Chess Today (chesstoday.net) nearly everyday. Here is one article from chess today which I think is very helpful to many.
The pawn structure above is very common in chess. It occurs most commonly in the Caro-Kann, Slav and Semi-Slav defences. One of the differences between a professional player and amateur is the understanding of something like this.
The following are the tips from CT. Let us start with a few common sense observations:
· White commands more space, therefore he should be happy to keep as many pieces on the board as possible, while exchanges usually favour Black.
· Black is usually happy to have his light-squared bishop on f5, g6 or g4 – not locked-in on c8.
· Black often swaps that bishop in this structure. When the lightsquared bishops are traded, usually Black’s defence gets easier. When Black exchanges his bishop for a white knight, then White usually gets a bishop pair, which could be a significant asset should the position open up.
· White normally tries to attack on the kingside, while Black should aim to remove the d4-pawn – usually with …c5.
This is also common to the Scandinavian, which is my main defense to 1. e4. Good tips!
No rocket science, I’d say!
Yes- it is just ‘simple chess’. Control of centre, space advantage prefer more pieces, swap off bad bishop for good, bishop pair is strong in open position etc. It is just normal chess principles.
This analysis has nothing to do with pawn position but more about how to handle the big pieces (B, N etc.)
No doubt, this is an excellent analysis of the Slav position. Thanks for that!