The Grandmaster Pawn Structure

If you’ve watched top level chess, there’s a good chance you’ve seen a pawn chain stretching f2-g3-h4 (or f7-g6-h5 for Black). This is a Grandmaster’s favourite pawn structure, because it best safeguards the king and the kingside through the endgame.

In this position, White has exactly the structure we’re talking about. The king can step up to shelter on g2, and there are no weak points for Black to reasonably attack. If it were Black to move, you would likely see something like 1. …h5 2. Kg2 g6, and a draw agreed to, or a repetition played, shortly.

Here’s another one, with queens, to show why it’s so useful.

Suppose Black has just played …h6-h5. White should definitely play 2. h4, establishing the pawns, and also stopping Black from causing mischief. Black might match with 2. …g6, and that should be another draw.

Say you instead attacked the h-pawn, 2. Qe5. Well, you’d have to deal with that pawn pressing onwards, 2. …h4. White doesn’t really want to take on h4 and expose the king, but if you don’t then you’ll have to deal with 3. Qf4 h3. Suddenly there’s a back rank mate threat, …Qd1#, and if you picture that pawn on h3 it’s not hard to also picture a black queen on g2. It would still objectively be an equal position, but White has made it much harder than it needed to be.

Thus: the Grandmaster’s favourite pawn structure. Set your pawns, and prevent a large amount of potential danger in the endgame.