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Solve the challenge below: Diagram 10.7.1- black’s rook is trapped, and the endgame after Bxe3 …dxe3, Kxe3 doesn’t offer any survival chances for black playing a pawn down in this king and pawns endgame. Observing the pawn structure closely, black comes up with an idea: if he could just force the enemy king to stay in his camp, and not cross the third rank, there is no progress to be made for white. So, …Rxd3! and after the recapture we reach the following position: Diagram 10.7.2- a piece for a pawn should be enough to win, right? Not in this case! …g4! and there is no way white’s king can ever advance beyond the second rank. Therefore, no progress can be made, and the position is another salvaged practical draw.In this example, by making a careful observation regarding the pawn structure, we managed to save a losing endgame. Challenge: would the assessment of the position (draw) change if black had no e5 pawn?

Solve the challenge below: Diagram 10.6- white has a choice, move the king away from the check or interfere with the queen, forcing a transition to king and pawn endgame. Quick calculation shows that black wins the arising pawn race, white will never be able to queen. Therefore, based on the pawn structure we are able to make a decision that keeps the position equal. Challenge: would the solution change if the b5 pawn was on d5 instead?

You can get the books series and apply for a free lesson here: https://www.strongerchess.com/ Solve the challenge below: Diagram 10.5- being a pawn down but with a more active king (the conclusions from the observation stage), white decides to go for maximal activity by creating targets to attack in black’s camp: b5! This gives white a dynamically equal position, since now the king marches deeper into black’s queenside. Challenge: going through observation white also noticed the weak c6 pawn, should he go for it with Bd7 instead of the suggested idea?

Solve the challenge below: Diagram 10.4- black has the outside passed pawn, versus white’s more inside passed pawn. The outside passed pawn is in most cases harder to stop in more simplified endings (such as king and pawns), since it requires the stopping king to go to the flank and leave the rest of his pawns possibly vulnerable.Using the short observation we have just performed, we can say that one of black’s goals is to exchange as many pieces as possible since the more simplified endgame will suit him more than white. Challenge: can you find a concrete plan to promote this goal?

Solve for white: Diagram 10.3- observing the pawn structure features, white notices that he can create a solid queen-side pawn majority by pushing c5. Challenge: Taking into account the pieces left on the board, does the creation of the pawn majority give white a practical advantage?

Solve the challenge below: Diagram 10.2- how can white fight for an advantage in the given position? One of the ideas he may employ is to prepare the position for mass exchanges on the d file. So, how can white extract the most out of these exchanges? The arising position will be a same color bishops ending. Therefore, we will try to restrict the opponent’s bishop and create targets for our bishop, creating the conditions for our bishop to shine at the expense of the opponent’s piece.We would like therefore to keep black’s pawns on dark squares, and this can be done in a number of ways- a4, c4, or even Kg4 to be played first before going for the exchanges. This way we try to maximize our winning chances. Challenge: if white plays g4, clearly this fixes black’s pawns on dark squares on the kingside. Is this idea preferable to playing Kg4?

Solve the challenge below: Diagram 9.11- are the doubled c pawns a strength or a weakness? Let’s see- are they blockaded or potentially attacked? No. Do they give white any handicap, bind, or problem? No. Do they provide any benefits to white? A big yes! Thanks to this doubled pawn structure, white is able to fight for central control by exchanging on d5 once and coming back again with c4 to do the same again. Challenge: in many similar pawn structures, white aims to play e4 to fight for the center, gain more space, and mostly to activate the c1 bishop. How should this bishop be activated in the given position? *** If you find this position curious, consider registering for a free group lesson here: https://www.chess.com/news/view/group-lessons-free-registration-2474

Solve for black: Diagram 10.1- black has a choice of exchanging rooks, keeping the tension while allowing the exchange, or moving the rook away. Performing an observation of pawn structure features, black notices that his opponent is very close to creating a passed pawn on the kingside. Also, observation shows that the quality of the knight is much better than that of the bishop. Therefore, exchanging rooks strongly favors white, practically winning the game, since after the rooks exchange nothing can successfully stop the kingside pawns. As a result, black decides to avoid the exchange. Challenge: how should black avoid the exchange of rooks? Suggest a solution and provide your assessment of the arising position based on the chances of each side to make further progress.

Solve for black: Diagram 9.10- this time the isolated pawns are not a weakness; on the contrary- the c4 pawn is very strong, and practically impossible to blockade or threaten. In fact, white threatens to create a weak isolated pawn for black, by pushing c5! followed by cxd. Challenge: the threat by white is clear. Is there a solution for black?

Solve for white: Diagram 9.5- white has an isolated pawn which is also blockaded from advancing. Generally this means that the weakness becomes long-lasting or even permanent. Going through threats analysis, white noticed that although the d4 pawn is attacked twice and defended twice, it can still be captured: …Nxd4, Bxd4 …Rxd4! And black’s rook is immune on d4 due to the mating threat Re1. If white could only get rid of this weak pawn, possibly by pushing it… But sadly the pawn is indeed blockaded, and white’s fantasy cannot come true in the given position. Challenge: if getting rid of the weakness is impossible, is there a solution to the threat we found that doesn’t involve concessions?

Solve the challenge below: Diagram 9.9.1- doing threats analysis, we found Nd4 by black with a big follow up threat- …Bxf3, gxf3 …Qf6: Diagram 9.9.2- after Qf6 white is losing material by force, since once the f4 bishop moves away, the f3 pawn hangs (instead of moving the bishop from harm’s way, white might respond with the only other reasonable option- Nd5. Black can continue: Qg6+, if Kh1 …Qh5 winning f3. If instead Bg3 …Rae8- black stands much better).This was another typical example of how creating a potential weakness in the form of doubled pawns can be leveraged into further initiative and improvements with tempos, thus making the doubled pawns in this specific case a real weakness. Eventually, it all comes down to practical use. Just having doubled pawns is not in itself a weakness; It becomes a weakness only if there is a practical way to take advantage of the pawn formation. Challenge: Our analysis of the position in diagram 9.9.1 was part of threats analysis, which means that in reality it’s our turn to play. Can we therefore prevent the depicted catastrophe?

Solve for white, address the challenge below: Diagram 9.8- in this position arising from the scotch gambit, observation shows that black has a set of backward double c pawns. Though currently it’s clear that white will not win any of them, at least in the imaginable future, their weakness and backward structure create great opportunities for white to fight for the advantage; the fact that they are backward (cannot potentially be supported with any other pawn) means that if blockaded, they stay blockaded. It also means that if they’re attacked they must be protected by pieces.From that observation we can formulate an idea. We will use the fact that the c pawns are blockaded to dominate the dark squares, and we will do so with initiative while attacking c6: Qc3! With tempo, followed by Bc5 and possibly a future Nd4. The backward double pawns structure allows us to dominate the dark squares with no possibility of contest by black, and we create progress with initiative while forcing black to respond with moves that only defend the weak pawns (such as Qd7 in response to Qc3). Challenge: part of the suggested plan was to play Bc5 after Qc3; can you find the reason why this is better than Nc5 after Qc3?

Solve the challenge below: Diagram 9.6- black’s a6 pawn is currently overprotected, and looks safe for the moment. But having a scheming mind such as yours, this potential weakness didn’t go unnoticed; a quick glance and you found an idea to attack it- double rooks on the a file and bring the knight to c5, all the while the a6 pawn has to stay put in order for your conspiracy to succeed. Hence we determine the move order of our newly formed plan: first Ra1 to blockade the pawn, then double rooks, and finally Nd2-b3-c5 to reach our dream position as planned. In that scenario, we notice that black can never defend the pawn more than twice, while we are going to attack it three times-we are winning the pawn by force. Challenge: the moment the knight begins its journey to c5, black can go Bf8 and meet Nc5 with Bxc5. Does this save black’s position?

Solve the challenge below: Diagram 9.7- white is the proud owner of a set of double isolated pawns on the c file. There is also an isolated pawn on the A file, and these two observations caught black’s tactical eye. If he could put a rook on d2, then the fate of the a2 pawn would look sealed. Therefore, Ne4! going to d2 forcing the exchange of knights followed by Rd2. Black is in fact using the current weakness of the c file pawns to attack another weakness, a common technique that usually means having a killer initiative. Challenge: does white have a decent reply to Ne4 and the plan that’s behind it? If yes, does it mean that white is doing ok here, or is there any way to create further progress for black from that point?

Solve for black: Diagram 9.4- white’s isolated f4 pawn is on an open file, which makes it easy for black to attack it, thus putting white on the defensive with the passive f1 rook. Challenge: can you think of a plan that takes advantage of this weakness to create progress for black?

Solve the challenge below: Diagram 9.3- In this endgame it's white's move, and black is up three pawns. A closer look shows that two pawns are weak and will require constant protection by black’s pieces (g5 and b6), so black’s pieces are tied down. All that’s left for white to do is to blockade the central pawns’ advance, and there will be no progress for black and no chance for a win. Therefore, a practical draw arises after Kd5!Challenge: Is this still a draw if it’s black’s move in the given position?

Solve for black: Diagram 8.9- in this position black is the only one who can ever create a passed pawn by advancing his queenside pawn chain, even though material is equal. (White’s kingside pawn majority can never create a passed pawn due to this specific doubled-pawn structure -- in the given configuration, 4 vs. 3 is not enough.)Challenge: what is the move order black should choose for advancing his queenside pawns in order to secure a sustainable passed pawn?

Hi! I noticed that @spochman hadn't created a topic in the forum for position 8.3; reading through the book today, I saw it, and thought I would offer my own thoughts on the "Challenge" in the diagram:

Address the challenge (black's move): Diagram 9.2- this is another typical opening position that incorporates a strong motif of pawn weaknesses, the Tarrasch variation of the Queen’s Gambit. Black has a choice: he can maintain the tension in the center and keep developing, or initiate central pawn exchanges that will end up giving white the famous isolated queens pawn (…dxc, Bxc4 …cxd, and with or without piece exchanges on d4, eventually: exd4). Black’s idea would be to concentrate some fire power on that d4 pawn and try to blockade it, all in an attempt to create a game scenario where white is forced to defend. Challenge: are there any benefits to white for playing this type of line that enables black to create this pawn structure weakness? What is the compensation for white’s positional weakness?