Hanging Pawns
Hanging pawns are, alongside with isolated d-pawn and Karlsbad, one of the most complex pawn structures that demands careful study. In this post, we will see some basic examples. For deeper exploration, I suggest reading “Pawn Structure Chess”
Let’s mention some of the main characteristics of hanging pawns. The pawns are standing on c4 and d4 (or c5 and d5 for Black), without friendly pawns on adjacent files and without opponent’s pawns on the “c” and “d” files.
The advantage of having hanging pawns is the control over large number of important central squares and certain limitation of opponent’s pieces. They give wonderful e5 (e4) outpost and ability to create strong heavy pieces’ pressure along the “b” file. The hanging pawns’ advance can carry huge energy and rip off the opponent’s center and castle after opening of files and diagonals. But be careful, the pawns’ advance can be double-edge (next paragraph).
The main problem with having hanging pawns is that they have no support from the other pawns and the pieces might be tied for constant defence, which is seriously limiting mobility. Moving any of the hanging pawns might create serious weaknesses in the center, by giving good outposts for opponent’s pieces and allowing him to block the pawns. In addition, the backward pawn can be vulnerable to attack. Very often, opponent doesn’t have to wait for pawns’ advance, he can provoke it by pushing and even sacrificing “b” or “e” pawn. This plan is usually connected with the wonderful pieces’ play over the freshly available squares.
