How good are doubled pawns before castling?

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TomaK7

During a lesson about the Italian Game by the site, I noticed in one of the challenges notations the quote "Black hasn't castled yet, so doubled pawns aren't an issue." Why is that? What if I need to castle right at the next move?

KeSetoKaiba

I don't like the way they worded that because castling has nothing to do with whether or not doubled pawns are a weakness. The biggest factor is how close we are to an endgame and especially just a King and pawn endgame situation. In the endgame, the doubled pawns tend to be very weak and will probably cost that side the game; when play is still in the opening/middlegame stage, then there is potential dynamics to justify the doubled pawns and they might not be as weak.

I guess their implication is that castling is further into the game and doubled pawns would be weaker, but I really don't like this wording because castling has nothing to do with the fact.

Here is a video I made which might be interesting for you though:

MariasWhiteKnight

In general dont castle towards weakened pawn structures, especially if there are also no pieces of yours in the area or the opponent has amassed pieces in that area.

doughnutsforever
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BigChessplayer665

It depends on the situation they open up lines so it is helpful to attack the downside is that your pawn structure is damaged so if you don't have enough activity the other player can attack the structure