Hanging pawns

Step 1 of 6

Look first

A game of Nimzowitsch’s from 1907. Rubinstein has White, Nimzowitsch has Black. Nimzowitsch shows it in “My System” as a family tree: from the isolani to the hanging pawns.

Tap the two black pawns that stand side by side and cannot be protected by any other pawn. Check once you have marked both.

Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space marks a square or removes the mark.

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Which piece should the pawn become?

Queen Rook Bishop Knight

Cancel

Choose a square from a list

Square a8, black rookb8, emptyc8, emptyd8, black queene8, emptyf8, black rookg8, black kingh8, emptya7, black pawnb7, emptyc7, emptyd7, emptye7, emptyf7, black pawng7, black pawnh7, black pawna6, emptyb6, emptyc6, emptyd6, emptye6, black bishopf6, black knightg6, emptyh6, emptya5, emptyb5, emptyc5, black pawnd5, black pawne5, emptyf5, emptyg5, emptyh5, emptya4, emptyb4, emptyc4, emptyd4, emptye4, emptyf4, emptyg4, emptyh4, emptya3, emptyb3, emptyc3, white knightd3, white bishope3, white pawnf3, emptyg3, white pawnh3, emptya2, white pawnb2, white pawnc2, emptyd2, emptye2, emptyf2, white pawng2, white pawnh2, emptya1, emptyb1, emptyc1, white rookd1, white queene1, emptyf1, white rookg1, white kingh1, empty Mark or unmark

Position as a list

White

• King g1
• Queen d1
• Rook c1
• Rook f1
• Bishop d3
• Knight c3
• Pawn a2
• Pawn b2
• Pawn e3
• Pawn f2
• Pawn g2
• Pawn g3

Black

• King g8
• Queen d8
• Rook a8
• Rook f8
• Bishop e6
• Knight f6
• Pawn a7
• Pawn c5
• Pawn d5
• Pawn f7
• Pawn g7
• Pawn h7

Step 2 of 6

Decide

A simultaneous game from 1910. Nimzowitsch has White. Black has a pawn pair on c6 and d5, diagonally one behind the other and without neighboring pawns. Nimzowitsch calls it the isolated pawn pair.

You are playing Black. What do you do with your pawns on c6 and d5?

Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.

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hgfedcba

Which piece should the pawn become?

Queen Rook Bishop Knight

Cancel

Position as a list

White

• King g1
• Queen c2
• Rook c1
• Rook f1
• Bishop e2
• Bishop g5
• Knight c3
• Pawn a2
• Pawn b2
• Pawn e3
• Pawn f2
• Pawn g2
• Pawn h2

Black

• King g8
• Queen d8
• Rook b8
• Rook f8
• Bishop e6
• Bishop e7
• Knight f6
• Pawn a7
• Pawn c6
• Pawn d5
• Pawn f7
• Pawn g7
• Pawn h7

What do you do with your pawns on c6 and d5?

Bd7 and wait: the pawns stay on c6 and d5 c6–c5: the pawns line up side by side on c5 and d5

Step 3 of 6

Try it

Back to the game against Rubinstein, two moves after the first position. The white queen now stands on a3.

You are playing Black. The white queen attacks your pawn on c5. Which pawn move do you answer with?

Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.

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hgfedcba

Which piece should the pawn become?

Queen Rook Bishop Knight

Cancel

Choose a move from a list

Move Rab8 – rook from a8 to b8Rac8 – rook from a8 to c8Rad8 – rook from a8 to d8Rae8 – rook from a8 to e8Rfe8 – rook from f8 to e8Rfd8 – rook from f8 to d8Rfc8 – rook from f8 to c8Rfb8 – rook from f8 to b8Kh8 – king from g8 to h8a6 – pawn from a7 to a6a5 – pawn from a7 to a5g6 – pawn from g7 to g6g5 – pawn from g7 to g5h6 – pawn from h7 to h6h5 – pawn from h7 to h5Qb7 – queen from b6 to b7Qb8 – queen from b6 to b8Qc7 – queen from b6 to c7Qd8 – queen from b6 to d8Qc6 – queen from b6 to c6Qd6 – queen from b6 to d6Qb5 – queen from b6 to b5Qb4 – queen from b6 to b4Qb3 – queen from b6 to b3Qxb2 – queen from b6 captures on b2Qa5 – queen from b6 to a5Qa6 – queen from b6 to a6Bd7 – bishop from e6 to d7Bc8 – bishop from e6 to c8Bf5 – bishop from e6 to f5Bg4 – bishop from e6 to g4Bh3 – bishop from e6 to h3Nd7 – knight from f6 to d7Ne8 – knight from f6 to e8Nh5 – knight from f6 to h5Ng4 – knight from f6 to g4Ne4 – knight from f6 to e4c4 – pawn from c5 to c4d4 – pawn from d5 to d4 Play move

Position as a list

White

• King g1
• Queen a3
• Rook c1
• Rook f1
• Bishop d3
• Knight c3
• Pawn a2
• Pawn b2
• Pawn e3
• Pawn f2
• Pawn g2
• Pawn g3

Black

• King g8
• Queen b6
• Rook a8
• Rook f8
• Bishop e6
• Knight f6
• Pawn a7
• Pawn c5
• Pawn d5
• Pawn f7
• Pawn g7
• Pawn h7

Step 4 of 6

Why does it work?

Hanging pawns hold a lot of space, but no pawn can protect them. If one of them moves forward, the other protects it: Nimzowitsch calls this “blockaded security”.

If one of them storms forward too early with a breakthrough, the pair often falls apart into a single pawn. Best of all, you combine the security with a little initiative.

Step 5 of 6

New position, same idea

A game from Carlsbad 1923 that Nimzowitsch discusses in “My System”. Bernstein has White, Teichmann has Black and two hanging pawns.

You are playing Black. Your hanging pawns on c5 and d5 are under constant attack. Which pawn move do you use to seek security?

Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.

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hgfedcba

Which piece should the pawn become?

Queen Rook Bishop Knight

Cancel

Choose a move from a list

Move Rcd8 – rook from c8 to d8Re8 – rook from c8 to e8Rf8 – rook from c8 to f8Rcc7 – rook from c8 to c7Rc6 – rook from c8 to c6Rb8 – rook from c8 to b8Ra8 – rook from c8 to a8Kh8 – king from g8 to h8Kh7 – king from g8 to h7Kf8 – king from g8 to f8a6 – pawn from a7 to a6Rdd8 – rook from d7 to d8Re7 – rook from d7 to e7Rd6 – rook from d7 to d6Rdc7 – rook from d7 to c7Rb7 – rook from d7 to b7g6 – pawn from g7 to g6g5 – pawn from g7 to g5Qe7 – queen from e6 to e7Qe8 – queen from e6 to e8Qf5 – queen from e6 to f5Qg4 – queen from e6 to g4Qxh3 – queen from e6 captures on h3Qe5 – queen from e6 to e5Qe4 – queen from e6 to e4Qxe3 – queen from e6 captures on e3Qd6 – queen from e6 to d6Qc6 – queen from e6 to c6Qb6 – queen from e6 to b6Qa6 – queen from e6 to a6Ne8 – knight from f6 to e8Nh7 – knight from f6 to h7Nh5 – knight from f6 to h5Ng4 – knight from f6 to g4Ne4 – knight from f6 to e4h5 – pawn from h6 to h5c4 – pawn from c5 to c4d4 – pawn from d5 to d4 Play move

Position as a list

White

• King g1
• Queen a5
• Rook d1
• Rook d3
• Knight c3
• Pawn a2
• Pawn b2
• Pawn e3
• Pawn f2
• Pawn g2
• Pawn h3

Black

• King g8
• Queen e6
• Rook c8
• Rook d7
• Knight f6
• Pawn a7
• Pawn c5
• Pawn d5
• Pawn f7
• Pawn g7
• Pawn h6

Step 6 of 6

Nimzowitsch and today

Aaron Nimzowitsch: looking at the board differently