Central Pawn Play II
Thirty decisions. Three connected chapters. Study the model, play the narrated assignment, then defend the other side against the computer.
Suggested pace: five studies a week for six weeks. Write your diagnosis, candidate and the opponent’s reply before revealing. Completion tracks learning, not an automatic claim of mastery.
There is no separate content charge. Saving curriculum progress and submitting narrated assignments require active student learning access. Public study, training and practice remain open without it.
Open curriculum in my training →Central tension: choosing the next structure
Ten games about the decision before the structure becomes familiar. Compare capture, advance, maintain, exchange a defender, and counter-break. Your task is to identify what each side receives after the final recapture, including useful squares, open lines and time gained against pieces.
- D01 · Prepare the pawn contact before choosing the structureNarrated assignment →
- D02 · Accept an isolated pawn deliberatelyNarrated assignment →
- D03 · Release one tension to create a more useful oneNarrated assignment →
- D04 · Create targets without assuming they will remain targetsNarrated assignment →
- D05 · A freeing break can lead to a clean drawNarrated assignment →
- D06 · Close one point of contact; reopen anotherNarrated assignment →
- D07 · Answer a break with an advance, not a captureNarrated assignment →
- D08 · A closed pawn front can finance piece activityNarrated assignment →
- D09 · A backward pawn becomes a line-opening resourceNarrated assignment →
- D10 · Exchange pieces first; then claim central spaceNarrated assignment →
The isolated queen’s pawn: activity, restraint and conversion
Ten games from both sides of the isolani. The pawn can support an outpost, clear a rank, participate in a sacrifice, or tie pieces to defence. The defender needs more than a blockading square; the owner needs more than the slogan that activity compensates for structure.
- E01 · The isolated pawn need not move to help an attackNarrated assignment →
- E02 · Use the third rank and the pawn’s diagonal captureNarrated assignment →
- E03 · A blockade does not make the king safeNarrated assignment →
- E04 · The outpost matters more than the targetNarrated assignment →
- E05 · Sacrifice the isolani to release the knightsNarrated assignment →
- E06 · Exchange policy must follow piece activityNarrated assignment →
- E07 · Keep the pawn restrained while opening a second frontNarrated assignment →
- E08 · Remove the opponent’s active outpost before invadingNarrated assignment →
Hanging pawns and the isolated pawn pair
Nine games featuring the standard abreast hanging-pawn formation or a transition into or out of it, plus one explicitly labelled study of the related staggered isolated pair. Follow changes of support after every advance and capture. Do not confuse a pawn chain with a pair whose members stand abreast.
- F01 · Improve the pieces before advancing the pairNarrated assignment →
- F02 · Remove the supporting bishop and change the pawn mapNarrated assignment →
- F03 · Advance with tempo, then calculate beyond the pawn lossNarrated assignment →
- F04 · Dissolve the pair to open both bishop diagonalsNarrated assignment →
- F05 · A thematic break gives activity, not a guaranteed advantageNarrated assignment →
- F06 · A fixed chain can be supported by an active kingNarrated assignment →
- F07 · From an isolani to a staggered pair to hanging pawnsNarrated assignment →
- F08 · A recapture restores neighbouring pawn supportNarrated assignment →
