Pawn Breakthroughs | Chess Middlegames

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Knowing how and when to push through with your pawns is a key aspect of chess strategy. Pawn breakthroughs are used to gain space, create a passed pawn or to free up pieces, which can be essential for victory!
I have used several examples to show the power of a timely pawn break. Some of them were endgame examples, which I have included to show thematic patterns which may occur during a real game, but the emphasis is on real game positions in which you have to be able to spot potential pawn breaks which could benefit your pieces, your pawn chain, your king safety, or any other essential aspect of your position.
Training your eye to spot pawn breaks and solving problems involving them will increase the chance that you will react properly over the board and diminish the chances of making crucial blunders or missing crucial opportunities.
Types of pawn breaks you are going to get in your games will depend on what type of positions you play. Depending on the opening, you might have a “break filled” pawn structure every game, or you might only seldom use them.
Some openings which have closed pawn structures and a closed center, such as the French Defense or the Benoni, are well known for the pawn breaks players have to play. In fact, in those two examples, if the thematic pawn breakthroughs aren’t played the position is unbearable! Imagine an advance French in which black deliberately chooses not to play c5. He would have a lost position. Or a Meran in which the bishop stays entombed on b7 with the pawn stuck forever on c6. Pawn breaks are sometimes mandatory.
I have tried to give examples which will serve as a “how to” for studying pawn breakthroughs. From here on, I would advise you to analyze game. Any games really (better if they’re 2000+ ELO) and try to find potential pawn breaks or try to figure out why a player has played one. It might be best to use game examples in openings which you play yourself in order to get a feeling which types of pawn breaks might occur in your games. Good luck studying!
#chess

[@davidwestwood6850]

Clarity and brevity using excellent examples to foster understanding. Thank you for your thoughtful instruction.

[@HangingPawns]

No problem Sir, and thank you for watching! It's wonderful to hear feedback like yours.

[@dickersonforever]

One of the most coolest part of your work is the motivation that you give us, thank you good sr.

[@kumarpatil8097]

A well structured lesson from a great teacher.... Encourages a player to think in terms of pawn breakthroughs during a game... Thanks for this video...

[@ismaildemir773]

I started playing Chess last week, even though I'm not very good I learn a lot from your videos, thank you for your content!!

[@PerceptionManagement]

after watching the weak squares vid the other day, i was thinking to myself that maybe you would do a pawn break vid at some point...exactly what i was looking for @hanging pawns thanks!

[@HangingPawns]

A nice coincidence then:) Hope it meets the expectation. And thanks for watching Greg!

[@AlexTube870]

You really create great videos! Many chess teachers explain content quite difficult. I like your videos very much because you explain in a easy way to follow and you concentrate on the important things relative to the theme of the video instead of getting bogged down in thousand other things. Please continue this good work!

[@naveediqbal9450]

Wow, What a video, pawn break through explained in very concrete way. Bravo !

[@HangingPawns]

Thank you Naveed:)

[@rxp5541]

i was really into chess a year ago and wanting to get back into it i came to your videos, and thank you so much for making these. They are so informational and helpful, especially to those trying to climb the rating ladder. Great work :)

[@agusc5117]

Man, I just watched the first episode of the series and damn this is good. Thanks for the great content!!

[@AndrewZavgorodny]

Thanks

[@noahcrow8982]

My second favourite series so far. Only second to the Caro-Kann series. Keep up the great work.

[@stevereade4858]

Nice explanation ... I learned a lot!

[@joesatch245]

Thank you so much for this channel! Your lessons are fantastic and you are a great teacher. More often than not, when I want to learn about a subject, you have a lesson on it! This is one of the best chess lesson channels on KZbin in my opinion.

[@plasticgodzilla1]

I just stumbled across you channel a few days ago, while looking for videos on kings gambit theory. So far, I have not found a better, more structured kind of presentation of theory here on youtube. It's just the right amount of in depth analysis that I need at the moment. Thank you so much!

[@buk1733]

17:20 Benjamin Finegold Very suspicious....

[@DeeMuzika]

Svaka cast, super ti je kanal i sadrzaj! Puno pozdrava i zelim ti puno srece u sahu! Dejan :)

[@latachordia4278]

Your videos always make the topic easy for me Thnx

[@ozueezeife7917]

Your channel is probably the best chess channel I’ve come across yet. Simple explanations of thought process! Thank you! 🥂

[@hiphopesq]

5:10 and 11:20 important structures to know

[@georgestamps]

Thank you so much for another excellent video!

[@HangingPawns]

No problem mate:)

[@elreiec1]

Best instructional chess channel on KZbin.

[@HangingPawns]

Thank you Eric:)

[@alstonjames2726]

Phenomenal vid!! Love this middle game series!!

[@dejanisin6415]

Odličan video Stjepane. Kao i prethodni. Pratim Vaš kanal s uživanjem kao i neke partije koje igrate na lichessu. U isčekivanju novih srdačno Vas pozdravljam i zahvaljujem. Lijep pozdrav.

[@HangingPawns]

Hvala puno Dejane! Lijep pozdrav i Vama!

[@alexanderopalic1873]

thank you for your videos

[@HangingPawns]

No problem!

[@patelsunny4620]

I am learning many things from your video. Thank you so much for making this.

[@simongoff855]

Great video!!! Like always!

[@HangingPawns]

Cheers Simon!

[@simongoff855]

@@HangingPawns You should think about getting your license to become an official chess trainer. Start with C and work your way up to A....

[@gasmimohamedbaha559]

Thank you Sir! I am learning a lot thanks to your videos.

[@philip9689]

Please do more of these vids! :D

[@HangingPawns]

New vid on the middlegames coming up on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays:)

[@Cookieforya]

just found this channel, huge thanks for these videos

[@RaffaeleViti]

Great theory video as always. Keep up the excellent work. Thank you.

[@walterjames8230]

Hi, thank you very much for all the work you put in to make those great videos. I wondered if you could make one about the principles of the middlegame. I don't know how relevant such a video could be but this one convinced me to ask because it tackles the subject in one particular aspect. If it seems pretty clear for each of us what to do in general in the opening, it's sometimes harder for some us to know what to do past that step without any principles to guide our play. Maybe a video that explains the basics could be useful in itself and even support other specific videos about the middlegame if you have planed to do some more. Cheers

[@HangingPawns]

Thank you Walter. For now I have around 50 more topics planned for the middlegame series (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are when they will be posted) and they are all similarly narrow as the first two. I might do a video on the general principles in the middlegame too. Thanks for the advice!

[@g.h.g.1106]

One approach is to play through master games in that opening. You will see how they develop their middle game after the opening stage.

[@ryderpham5464]

I really like your thumbnail style and the videos even more!

[@albertomarques7563]

They really are peak aesthetics!

[@shauryavijayran2113]

Thanks man ,never knew how to breakthrough during the middle game I've been gaining some rating !

[@muhammedyaseen5438]

Your videos are very interesting and has helped me become better.

[@bocz4317]

this man is legendary

[@kiyan7299]

Thank you so much Sir! I'm learning a lot from your videos.

[@DJayDiamond]

Best chess channel out there, great content keep it up!

[@HangingPawns]

Thank you mate:)

[@aleksandarjovanovic7525]

I would be really glad if you could explain us how to punish the opponent not knowing the theory. For weaker players(

[@ayoubjaaba698]

Thank you 21:11

[@Danthemanfromny]

I learned from it for sure. I need a checkmate study. The games I do win my opponent resign.

[@ziadoonahmed9160]

I really appreciate what u are doing 4 us 🙏

[@youmighthavetbable]

Excellent video, very interesting!!

[@theProgrammerX965]

Your content is clean, evident and well structured. Thank you so much for making lessons for us.

[@Pouya..]

Thank you so much 🙏🙏

[@damkillerxxwin1462]

8:25 what about ke1?

[@threethrushes]

This is really valuable. Selfishly speaking, I yearn for greater understanding of pawn breaks in the QGD and London System as white. I feel as if I zero understanding of when to do a pawn break in actual games I play, and simply work on 'feel'.

[@HangingPawns]

Well, the truth is that you sort of have to develop a "feel". There is no one rule for whether a pawn break is right or not. You have to consider all the consequences of it and be able to do hard calculation after the break you want to play. I would suggest taking 100+ games in the QGD and in the London, putting them on move 20 and looking for ideas. If there aren't any, scroll through the game and find what you think was a considerable pawn break or a missed opportunity for one. Ask yourself why it was or wasn't played. After a hundred games you will have developed a feel:) At least a mild one.

[@threethrushes]

@@HangingPawns Appreciate the detailed reply. I'll analyse my games in London System. I kind of wish I hadn't got into chess: the rabbit hole goes very, very deep...

[@kingcuano668]

Thank you so much for this❤

[@brbcrew9957]

Thank you so much for this excellent videos hope you'll get more subscribers

[@sublimekma]

Question... at 19:47, what exactly makes moving to any one of those squares a pawn break? Aren’t you just sacrificing a pawn for nothing in return? For example, why would anyone just play b5? Wouldnt you want to set up b5 by playing a6 first? Otherwise you are just throwing a pawn a pawn it seems? Or at 20:26.... what makes this a pawn break? Again, arent you just exchanging pawns? Maybe i simply dont know the definition of pawn break. I thought it was a situation that creates a passed pawn.

[@LaVieDeReine86]

Apologies if I missed something, but at 5:26 doesn't c5 lose to axb5 or bxc5 creating a passed pawn for black?

[@Sigmav0]

Nice intro !

[@HangingPawns]

Thanks!

[@longball756]

Intro is awesome

[@lionsskyblue442]

i needed this...thank you

[@streetchess1807]

Thank you

[@Entropy825]

Another excellent video.

[@HangingPawns]

Thanks!

[@NicoSeven7]

Thanks 👌

[@jasperhalsey8574]

you’re the best

[@altafmankad4462]

How to improve visualisation skill sir?

[@thepsalms2806]

Thanks coach!

[@DJayDiamond]

Can you do a video on exchange sacs, specifically positional ones? And maybe another vid on tactical sacs and how to spot them

[@HangingPawns]

I will make both eventually. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I'll upload new middlegame vids. Not sure in which order the topics will go though

[@gamingboy-os4sn]

I watch only your vidios and i am also getting better in chess

[@mayankpatel8278]

Love ur videos, so nicely explained.. please improve the sound next time.. as your voice is less audible even on high volume.. Everything else was perfect.

[@penguin_edits]

Very useful!!!!!!

[@ahmadfauzan7927]

great video

[@xavierg6398]

super video

[@darrylkassle361]

I am between 900~1300 elo depending which online site I play on so to hear him call himself a weaker player at his level makes me realise how much of a patzer I am. They say If you are 1800 + elo you are technically in the top 1 % of players online or at a club. Surely that is not weak!!! But yeah I get it comparatively speaking and all that.

[@fantasizer8473]

This is better than watching Pawn.

[@n.jurenic]

Snimano kraj uspinjače 😁

[@AakashKumar-gl2fk]

17:15 Benoni reminds me of Ben Finegold, very suspicious

[@mohamedaissa4651]

in the semislav, what should You do if your opponent play a4 just after You play c6?

[@HangingPawns]

You mean 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. a4?? Here black has already more than equalized. You continuo with 3... Bf5, developing the bishop outside the pawn chain, after which you close it down with e6. You just got a perfect Semi-slav structure without the bad bishop!

[@mohamedaissa4651]

@@HangingPawns thanks a lot for your great videos

[@jackcoleman1632]

What chess engine are you using to demo your games

[@HangingPawns]

I use the default on lichess

[@linavaidya8468]

Want to ask you a question

[@Jocw27]

I know we're all focused on chess here, but am I really the only one to notice the gondola coming and going in the background?

[@prabhucharan]

What do you think

[@madhavsanap6690]

@hangingpawns What knowledge GMs have ? Are their games just a me kind of 40 move memorization or they really know how to play chess ?

[@beri4138]

Nah bruh they have no idea how to play chess that's why they beat everyone else.

[@CeceMelchor]

White playing f4 in the closed Benoni feels like it would be traumatic to play as black

[@christianmfrancis]

'especially weaker players such as myself...'

[@kneez]

Nugget

[@SP-bb2ni]

It's "pawn break", not "porn break" goddammit yt

[@playerx-s4v]

Nice vid Stjepan. My name on Lichess is lovechess21

[@johnbollenbacher6715]

I’m not sure why, but this video does not seem to be up to your usual high standards. Keep up the good work.

[@artistryartistry7239]

You should probably stop referring to yourself as a "weaker player." It makes me wonder if I should be watching your channel at all.

[@HangingPawns]

What would you call a 1909 fide rated player?

[@sherllymentalism4756]

@@HangingPawns as a below 1500 player, I think you're godlike. It's all relative, relative to a GM you're weaker, and that's your goal But relative to average, you're very good 😊