Dangers of Pawn Picking
Jan 30, 2024 9:45:14 GMT -5
Post by Radrook Admin on Jan 30, 2024 9:45:14 GMT -5
Dangers of Pawn-Picking
Just recently, I lost two games for having gone pawn-picking in a perfectly balanced position believing that getting ahead in material would lead to a won endgame. Well, as it turned out in both cases, it led to a defeat instead. In the first instance the removal of the pawn seemed to free black's pieces. In short, the piece had actually been an obstruction to their coordination, and once it was gone, thanks to me, of course, all of black's pieces were suddenly moving in harmony and honing in on my position in a way that I had not foreseen and was unprepared for.
To add even more injury to my mistake, I had lost two tempi via capturing and having to retreat the capturing piece, thereby providing black with extra time to make that new coordination even more devastatingly effective.
I found all this out during computer analyses.
Well, after that happened, I promised never to go pawn-picking mindlessly again. However, and for some mysterious reason, as black, there I was again, with a slightly winning position, and with the same chance to capture a loose pawn. Did I remember my lesson? No siree Bob! Once more I captured it and once again the opponent's pieces seemed to have been invigorated by the extra time and open lines that the now absent piece had provided.
To my horror and dismay, once again, difficult complications were initiated which I had not foreseen, and of course, under the sudden and totally unexpected, unrelenting machinelike pressure, I once more blundered due to time pressure, and the shock of the turnaround, and lost the game.
In short, now whenever I see a piece that can be captured, I hesitate and fully evaluate the pros and the cons. Have decided to leave the loose pawn alone, and have won those games.
To add even more injury to my mistake, I had lost two tempi via capturing and having to retreat the capturing piece, thereby providing black with extra time to make that new coordination even more devastatingly effective.
I found all this out during computer analyses.
Well, after that happened, I promised never to go pawn-picking mindlessly again. However, and for some mysterious reason, as black, there I was again, with a slightly winning position, and with the same chance to capture a loose pawn. Did I remember my lesson? No siree Bob! Once more I captured it and once again the opponent's pieces seemed to have been invigorated by the extra time and open lines that the now absent piece had provided.
To my horror and dismay, once again, difficult complications were initiated which I had not foreseen, and of course, under the sudden and totally unexpected, unrelenting machinelike pressure, I once more blundered due to time pressure, and the shock of the turnaround, and lost the game.
In short, now whenever I see a piece that can be captured, I hesitate and fully evaluate the pros and the cons. Have decided to leave the loose pawn alone, and have won those games.
Conclusion?
The conclusion is that just because a pawn can be captured doesn't mean that it is worth capturing. Some pawns are totally irrelevant to the action that is taking place and will simply provide the opponent with extra time. Other pawns are actually obstructing the opponent's pieces and if captured will release a storm of activity. Others will have both effects. So the dynamic potential of the opponent's pieces in relation to the pawn should be fully taken into consideration before we decide whether to capture it or not.