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Doubled pawns: two pawns on one file

At a glance

Doubled pawns are two pawns of the same color standing one behind the other on the same file. They cannot protect each other. In “My System”, Aaron Nimzowitsch explains that their weakness often only shows when they advance. That is why, at the board, you often first lure your opponent’s doubled pawns forward. Then you attack them with your own pawns.

In short

Look at a single file, for example the c-file. If two white pawns stand there one behind the other, they are doubled pawns. They arise when a pawn captures diagonally onto a neighboring file. A pawn only protects diagonally forwards; that is why the rear pawn can never protect the front one.

Nimzowitsch distinguishes two weaknesses. The first shows when the pawns advance: then there is no pawn alongside to support the advance. He compares this to a man with a limp: as long as he is sitting down, nobody notices anything. You uncover the second weakness when you advance your own pawns against the doubled pawns.

From this he makes a rule. You attack isolated doubled pawns, or doubled pawns that are already advancing, with pawns. If the doubled pawns still stand firmly in their pawn group, you first push your opponent into advancing. If they later get rid of them through an exchange, only half of the weakness disappears.

Nimzowitsch grants doubled pawns one strength. As long as they stay where they are, they often hold a position surprisingly firmly. He calls this holding out their only real strength. Whoever plays against them therefore needs patience.

Start with lesson 26, where you attack doubled pawns with a pawn. In Nimzowitsch against Sämisch, White leaves his doubled pawns where they are and plays with his pieces. Against Rosselli, Nimzowitsch only creates the doubled pawns after Black has pushed his d-pawn. Against Brinckmann, he blockades white doubled pawns on the f-file.

Summarized by the editors in their own words. This is not a quotation.

Doubled pawns and restraint

Nimzowitsch deals with doubled pawns in the same chapter as restraint. There is a reason for this: a pawn group with doubled pawns finds it hard to move. He thinks restraint over large parts of the board is only possible against doubled pawns.

He names further consequences. Sometimes a bishop is shut in behind its own pawns, and there is not enough space. A knight that blockades doubled pawns seems especially strong to him. The article on restraint explains this in more detail.

If you have doubled pawns yourself

If you have doubled pawns in the center, keep your pawns firmly in place for as long as possible. Nimzowitsch then recommends small, careful piece moves that work towards both sides. Your pawns can do little, so you have to use every piece sparingly.

Doubled pawns can even attack. Nimzowitsch shows pawn groups with doubled pawns that first defend and then storm forward. The hard part is finding the right moment for this.

What holds today

Today, too, doubled pawns are often seen as a weakness, but not always. In return, their owner often gets a half-open file or the bishop pair. That is why the concrete position decides, not the rule alone.

Where to find it in Nimzowitsch

My System: II. Teil, 2. Kapitel - Der Doppelbauer und Hemmung original text not yet published
Overview of the chapter on doubled pawns and restraint, with all its sections.
My System: II. Teil, 2.1 Wahlverwandtschaft zwischen „Doppelbauer“ und „Hemmung“; ersterer begünstige eine Durchführung feindlicher Hemmungspläne. Was heißt das: Unter dem Nachteil eines Doppelbauern leiden? Der Begriff der passiven (= statischen) und aktiven (= dynamischen) Schwäche. Wann erscheint die Auflösung eines feindlichen Doppelbauern angezeigt? Die (einzige) wirkliche Stärke des Doppelbauern wird näher begründet. original text not yet published
The two weaknesses of doubled pawns and the rule for when to attack them with pawns.
My System: II. Teil, 2.1a Die einzige wirkliche Stärke des Doppelbauern original text not yet published
Why doubled pawns can be strong while they stand still: their only real strength.
My System: II. Teil, 2.2 Die bekanntesten Doppelbauernkomplexe passieren Revue (abgekürzt „Doppelkomplexe“). Der Doppelkomplex als Angriffsinstrument. original text not yet published
Typical groups with doubled pawns, the struggle between holding out and advancing, and doubled pawns as a means of attack.
My System: II. Teil, 2.5 Die verschiedenen Formen, unter denen die Hemmung aufzutreten pflegt, werden näher beleuchtet original text not yet published
The forms of restraint, including the restraint of doubled pawns with a shut-in bishop and a blockading knight.
Chess Praxis: 2.4 Hemmung im Falle von Doppelbauerkomplexen (abgekürzt Doppelkomplexen) original text not yet published
Example games with doubled pawns: how they hold out for a long time and why advancing further weakens them.