You have a Pawn Chain Pointing to the Kingside when you have a diagonal formation of connected pawns that extends from the queenside towards the kingside. This structure is typically very resilient, as the pawns support each other. It can help you launch attacks and create weaknesses on that side of the board.
Ideas for when you have a strong Pawn Chain Pointing to the Kingside: (1) Launch a kingside attack, using your pawn chain as a base for your offensive, (2) Prevent queenside counterplay. Ideas against a strong Pawn Chain Pointing to the Kingside: (1) Attack the base of the pawn chain to destabilize its structure, (2) Ensure protection for your King, (3) Create counterplay in the center or on the queenside.
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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 Pawn Chains Pointing to the Kingside. 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 pawn structure.
Take a look at this YouTube short by the Chess Knowledge with H1 to get a quick, precise, and fun (we all love vertical chessboards!) definition of Pawn Chains and why they are important.
This video by the excellent John Bartholomew YouTube channel is a great introduction to many concepts regarding Pawns. Pawn Chains being one of them. Ideal for beginners and intermediates.
This chess.com lesson is part of a really interesting series about Attacking Pawn Chains. In the game analyzed in this video, White has a very powerful Pawn Chain pointing to the Kingside.
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.
This book by John Nunn walks you through the moves of 30 games, step-by-step. And it includes several examples that illustrate the concept of pawn chain. Ideal for club players looking for a clear and thorough explanation of game strategies.
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