Pawn Structures 101: a middlegame course

Pawn structure affects useful squares, pawn breaks and piece activity. Read the actual structure before choosing a plan.

7 lessons, each followed by its own puzzle drill, then 10 themed puzzle packs.

• The Doubled Pawns — Compare the support and files created by doubled pawns.
• The Isolated Pawn — Identify a pawn with no friendly pawn on neighboring files.
• The Backward Pawn — Check whether a pawn can advance safely or obtain pawn support.
• The Hanging Pawns — Compare the pawn pair’s supported advances with possible blockades.
• The Pawn Chain — Identify the supporting pawn and prepare a break against it.
• The Pawn Majority — Use the larger pawn group to create a passed pawn.
• The Pawn Lever — Choose a pawn advance that challenges an opposing pawn.