defence · recognise → explain → apply

Challenge the pawn wedge before defending behind it

An enemy central pawn restricts your pieces but can be challenged by a supported pawn move.

Explanation styleChoose any style. Age is not playing strength; no birth date is needed.

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Choose an example

Anand, Viswanathan – Karpov, Anatoly

FIDE-Wch k.o. f · 1998.01.06 · 0-1

18... f5 · White to move

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What to notice at 18... f5

Black challenges White’s e5 wedge after exchanging the active minor pieces; Karpov wins later.

A legally replayed historical example, not a claim that every move is best. A game’s result does not prove every defensive position was lost or drawn.

Game source ↗

Your thinking first

Name the signal, choose a plan, and test the opponent’s most challenging response.

What do you notice?What is your plan, and why?How could the opponent resist?

Recall and explain

1. What does ...f5 challenge after dxe5?

Explain it in your own words before revealing.

Make it memorable

Do not build a prison around the wedge.

Teach this to a friend in one minute. Then return to a different example and look for the same signal without being told its name.

Reflect and revisit

This is your self-assessment, not an engine grade or a promise of mastery.

Connect the ideas

Practise pawn transformations →

Sources and further reading

Original GolgiChess teaching and game analysis. Topic references are credited below; no affiliation or endorsement is implied.

Exeter Chess Club — Pawn mobility ↗