Hanging Pawns

In some positions, a pair of Hanging Pawns can be a weakness because they are not supported by neighboring pawns. When they cannot advance safely (as shown in the first diagram above), they can become easy targets for the opponent.

In other positions, a pair of Hanging Pawns can be a very dynamic advantage because they control the squares in front of them effectively (as shown in the second diagram above). Additionally, the open files on either side can allow the Rooks to become very active.

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Master the Hanging Pawns

When we started adding a playful touch to chess learning, we looked through thousands of videos and hundreds of books to find the best resources out there. Here's our curated selection of the best content we encountered on Hanging Pawns. We also included some smaller creators who are growing fast and we believe deserve your attention. Check out these resources if you want to master this type of pawns.

Introduction to Hanging Pawns | Pawn Structures
This video by Chessfactor serves as a short introduction to Hanging Pawns, the advantages and the weaknesses that come with them. Ideal for beginners and intermediate players.

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Hanging Pawns Lesson | Fischer vs Spassky
Have a look at this very interesting lesson by the ChessGoals channel in which NM Matt Jensen teaches how to play against an opponent’s Hanging Pawns.

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Hanging Pawns: Every Pawn Structure Explained*
This lesson by GM Johan Hellsten is part of a fantastic Chess.com series on Pawn Structures. In this video you’ll learn how to play with or against these tricky pawns. Don’t miss it.

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Chess Structures: A Grandmaster Guide*
This is a wonderful book by Mauricio Flores Rios. It covers in a super-clear way the most common pawn structures, and for each provides strategic plans for both White and Black. A must-have for all intermediate players.

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Winning Chess Middlegames: Second Edition*
Another good book by Ivan Sokolov that focuses on the middlegame, mostly arising from 1.d4. Pawn structures are at the core of all analysis in this book. For intermediate and advanced players. Follow all the moves with ease thanks to the interactive e-book reader.

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