Two pawns side by side on c5 and d5, with no pawns beside them on the b- and e-files, are called hanging pawns. Side by side they control the centre; once one of them is forced forward, the other is left alone and the square in front of it becomes a home for an enemy piece. Learn to pressure them, to provoke the advance and to blockade.
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Pawns on c5 and d5 with no neighbours on the b- and e-files look proud and feel fragile. They are hanging pawns, the usual result of the Queen’s Gambit Tartakower and many Queen’s Indian lines. This lesson is the attacker’s plan against them and the defender’s one good answer.
What you will learn
01What makes a pair of pawns hanging, and which squares they control while side by side.
02The pawn levers e3 to e4 and b2 to b4 that force one of them forward.
03How to blockade the square in front of the pawn that is left behind.
04When the push d5 to d4 is a weapon rather than a weakness.
The plan
Section one is a position from Fischer against Spassky, 1972, with Black’s pawns on c5 and d5 and White’s rook and queen already aimed at c5. Section two is the same game two moves later, where White plays the lever e3 to e4 against d5. Section three shows the result White wants: Black has pushed c5 to c4, the pawn on d5 is backward and a white knight blockades on d4. Section four reverses it and shows when d5 to d4 is strong for Black.
The club mistake on the attacking side is to treat the pawns as a target to win at once. Two pawns side by side defend each other’s squares, and piling up on d5 without removing its defenders only trades pieces. Bring the rooks to the c- and d-files, use a lever, and wait for the push. The mistake on the defending side is to push because the pawn is attacked rather than because the push hits something.
How to practise it
Two quiz positions follow the sections. In the first, White removes a defender to win the pawn on d5; in the second, Black uses the push d5 to d4 at the right moment. One move each, spoken or tapped. This is a Pro lesson.
Two pawns side by side on adjacent files, usually c and d, with no friendly pawns on the files next to them. They cannot be defended by other pawns, only by each other’s advance.
Are hanging pawns good or bad?
Both. Side by side and mobile they control the centre and support an attack. Once one is forced forward, the other is weak and the square in front of it becomes a blockade square.