Space Advantage

About this lesson

Pawns on d4 and e4 against a pawn on d6 take c5, d5, e5 and f5 away from Black’s pieces. That is what space means: squares your pieces can use and the opponent’s cannot. The cramped side must trade pieces or break with a pawn, or be slowly squeezed.

What you will learn

• 01 How to measure space by the squares your pawns control, not by how far they have gone.
• 02 The two remedies for the cramped side, exchanges and pawn breaks, with the French Advance as the model.
• 03 The Maroczy bind, pawns on c4 and e4 against the Accelerated Dragon, and why it leaves Black without a break.
• 04 Gaining space with tempo, and the line between a space advantage and over-extension.

The plan

Four sections. A centre with white pawns on d4 and e4 against ...d6, the four squares in front highlighted. The French Advance after 3.e5 c5, where Black attacks the base of the chain at once and keeps ...f6 in reserve for the head. The Maroczy bind from the Accelerated Dragon, with pawns on c4 and e4 stopping ...d5 and ...b5 and a knight sitting on d4. And a pawn advance that hits a piece and takes its squares in the same move.

The club mistake with space is to keep pushing. A pawn that goes one square too far cannot come back and turns into a target. Space is only useful if the pieces behind the pawns can use it, so the side with space should improve pieces and refuse exchanges. The mistake for the cramped side is to wait: every exchange and every pawn break has a right moment, and the moment passes.

How to practise it

Two quiz positions follow the sections. The first asks you to gain space in the centre with a move that also attacks a piece; the second asks you to advance and cramp Black. Tap the move or say it aloud. This lesson is in Pro; Pawn Breaks is the natural follow-up.

Questions people ask

What is a space advantage in chess?

Having pawns further advanced so that your pieces have more usable squares and the opponent’s have fewer. It matters most when the opponent cannot easily trade or break.

What is the Maroczy bind?

A white set-up with pawns on c4 and e4 against the Sicilian, usually the Accelerated Dragon. It stops the ...d5 and ...b5 breaks and gives White a lasting space edge.