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In chess, a backward pawn is a pawn that is behind the pawns of the same color on the adjacent files and that cannot easily be advanced. In this diagram, which is taken from the game Akiba Rubinstein-Georg Salwe (Lodz 1908), the Black pawn on the c6 square is backward. Backward pawns are a positional disadvantage, since they are hard to defend. Also, the opponent can place a piece on the square in front of the pawn (called a hole) without any risk of a pawn driving it away. If the backward pawn is on a half-open file, as in this case, the disadvantage is even larger, as it can be more easily attacked by an opponent's rook or queen. Pieces can become weak when they are devoted to protecting a backward pawn, like Black's queen and rook later in the game.
You can see how all of Rubinstein's strategical plan is connected to pressuring this weakness in the Black camp, and in the end the pawn is lost and with it the game [1].
(Also see isolated pawn and doubled pawns.) This image is originally from xboard. ... Image File history File links ghjfdjdfjkghjgjghj File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... Image File history File links ghjfdjdfjkghjgjghj File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... Image File history File links ghjfdjdfjkghjgjghj File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... Image File history File links ghjfdjdfjkghjgjghj File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... Image File history File links ghjfdjdfjkghjgjghj File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... Image File history File links ghjfdjdfjkghjgjghj File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links ghjfdjdfjkghjgjghj File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... Image File history File links ghjfdjdfjkghjgjghj File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... Image File history File links ghjfdjdfjkghjgjghj File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... Image File history File links ghjfdjdfjkghjgjghj File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... Image File history File links ghjfdjdfjkghjgjghj File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... Image File history File links ghjfdjdfjkghjgjghj File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... Image File history File links ghjfdjdfjkghjgjghj File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... Image File history File links ghjfdjdfjkghjgjghj File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links ghjfdjdfjkghjgjghj File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... Image File history File links ghjfdjdfjkghjgjghj File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... Image File history File links ghjfdjdfjkghjgjghj File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... Image File history File links ghjfdjdfjkghjgjghj File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... A chess table is a table with a chessboard painted or engraved on it. ... The pawn (♙♟) is the weakest and most numerous piece in the game of chess, representing infantry, or more particularly pikemen. ... This page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. ... Akiba Rubinstein (born 12 December 1882, died 15 March 1961 in Antwerp) was a brilliant Polish chess master and a famous grandmaster at the beginning of the 20th century. ... . Łódź (pronunciation: ) is the second-largest city (population 776,297 in 2004) of Poland, located in the centre of the country. ... 1908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... This page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. ... In chess, a half-open file, or semi-open file, is a file with no pawns of one color. ... A strategy is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal, as differentiated from tactics or immediate actions with resources at hand. ... In chess, an isolated pawn is a pawn for which there is no friendly pawn on an adjacent file. ... In chess, doubled pawns are two pawns of the same player residing on the same file. ...