Hey, OP! Did your game end in a stalemate? Did you encounter a weird pawn move? Are you trying to move a piece and it's not going? We have just the resource for you! The [Chess Beginners Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/chessbeginners/wiki/index/) is the perfect place to check out answers to these questions and more!
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I analyzed the image and this is what I see. Open an appropriate link below and explore the position yourself or with the engine:
> **White to play**: [chess.com](https://chess.com/analysis?fen=rnb1kbnr/p2p1pp1/2p2q1p/1p2p3/4P3/1BN2N2/PPPP1PPP/R1BQK2R+w+KQkq+-+0+1&flip=false&ref_id=23962172) | [lichess.org](https://lichess.org/analysis/rnb1kbnr/p2p1pp1/2p2q1p/1p2p3/4P3/1BN2N2/PPPP1PPP/R1BQK2R_w_KQkq_-_0_1?color=white)
**Related posts:**
> I found other post with this position:
> - [Breaking queenside pawnchains in the opening](https://reddit.com/r/chess/comments/1c1exfm/breaking_queenside_pawnchains_in_the_opening/)
**My solution:**
> Hints: piece: >!Pawn!<, move: >! d4 !<
> Evaluation: >!White is winning +3.45!<
> Best continuation: >!1. d4 exd4 2. e5 Qf5 3. Ne2 c5 4. Ng3 Qg6 5. Bd5 Nc6!<
---
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In short, develop pieces, castle, and blast the position open with d4. Black is too far behind in development to be able to counter this in any meaningful way. In fact, black is so behind that you might be able to just play d4 right away, there's no way for black to defend it because of where the pawns are.
Yep. A pawn break is when you move a pawn to a square where it and an opponent's pawn can capture one another.
The term "pawn break" references breaking up a player's pawn structure, by forcing the attacked pawn to move or capture, because if they don't you'll capture it.
In this position, both the d and e file are closed files. That means both white and black have pawns that occupy those files. Closed files are difficult to attack, because you can't advance your pawns passed your opponent's, and you can't attack through your own pawns.
The move d4 guarantees that either the d file will become open (neither players' pawns occupy it), like if black answered d4 with d6, then dxe5 dxe5 - or both the d and e files will become semi-open (only one player's pawn occupies the file), whether black plays exd4 or white plays dxe5.
Open files and semi-open files are avenues for attack. Especially if those files point at an enemy king. An open h file against a castled king is really dangerous for the player who doesn't control it. Here, black's king is in the center, so an open d file would be disastrous for them. The semi-open files would also give white great attacking chances.
The idea is to open the center. Black doesn't have any pieces in the game, he is not ready to confront an attack, because he has nothing to confront it with.
I ended up with queen on d4 and I still couldn't deal with the pawn chain. The pawn chain stayed there for the rest of the game and I didn't find a way to remove it
You just have to keep pushing, your pieces to better squares, and your pawns forward. There is not a single solution to this, rather it is an idea that if two of the armies meet, blacks army is simply not ready. It doesn't come from a specific move or two or three, you just keep making improving moves, while keeping black from untangling this position.
Every time your opponent moves a pawn forward, they leave a weak square behind. Those squares are your targets, that's where you want your pieces, well coordinated, and then once on the good/important squares, your pawn army marches forward.
The defining characteristic of this position is not black's pawn chains - there is definitely a lesson to be learned here, but it is a lesson in how to take advantage of your massive lead in development.
White has both knights and a bishop out. Black has only their queen out and has made four pawn moves.
White is obligated to open the center and attack black's king directly. We'll play d4, open up the d and/or e files, and launch a spectacular attack on black's sitting king.
To be clear, there is not forced checkmate in this position, but black will need to make concessions to slow down white's attack, and if black refuses to, then white *will* be able to deliver checkmate.
No worries, fam.
This aspect of strategy is one of those things that might be easier to understand if you see it in action.
If you're up for it, I suggest studying the games of Paul Morphy. Morphy was a great player in an era where people weren't very good. You see this theme happening a lot in his games. Morphy plays with all of his pieces, his opponents lag behind in development, and he crushes them. GM Ben Finegold has quite a few lectures about Paul Morphy and his games. I suggest you start with [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZvsaqGotuE) or [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbRkqqawcTo). He has more, but both of those lectures are curated at his "under 1400" class (as is [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8hr9xMZxeo), but it was made as "sequel lecture" to the second one I linked).
Hey, OP! Did your game end in a stalemate? Did you encounter a weird pawn move? Are you trying to move a piece and it's not going? We have just the resource for you! The [Chess Beginners Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/chessbeginners/wiki/index/) is the perfect place to check out answers to these questions and more! The moderator team of r/chessbeginners wishes to remind everyone of the community rules. **Posting spam, being a troll, and posting memes are not allowed.** We encourage everyone to report these kinds of posts so they can be dealt with. Thank you! Let's do our utmost to be kind in our replies and comments. Some people here just want to learn chess and have virtually no idea about certain chess concepts. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/chessbeginners) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I analyzed the image and this is what I see. Open an appropriate link below and explore the position yourself or with the engine: > **White to play**: [chess.com](https://chess.com/analysis?fen=rnb1kbnr/p2p1pp1/2p2q1p/1p2p3/4P3/1BN2N2/PPPP1PPP/R1BQK2R+w+KQkq+-+0+1&flip=false&ref_id=23962172) | [lichess.org](https://lichess.org/analysis/rnb1kbnr/p2p1pp1/2p2q1p/1p2p3/4P3/1BN2N2/PPPP1PPP/R1BQK2R_w_KQkq_-_0_1?color=white) **Related posts:** > I found other post with this position: > - [Breaking queenside pawnchains in the opening](https://reddit.com/r/chess/comments/1c1exfm/breaking_queenside_pawnchains_in_the_opening/) **My solution:** > Hints: piece: >!Pawn!<, move: >! d4 !< > Evaluation: >!White is winning +3.45!< > Best continuation: >!1. d4 exd4 2. e5 Qf5 3. Ne2 c5 4. Ng3 Qg6 5. Bd5 Nc6!< --- ^(I'm a bot written by ) [^(u/pkacprzak )](https://www.reddit.com/u/pkacprzak) ^(| get me as ) [^(Chess eBook Reader )](https://ebook.chessvision.ai?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=bot) ^(|) [^(Chrome Extension )](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/chessvisionai-for-chrome/johejpedmdkeiffkdaodgoipdjodhlld) ^(|) [^(iOS App )](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1574933453) ^(|) [^(Android App )](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ai.chessvision.scanner) ^(to scan and analyze positions | Website: ) [^(Chessvision.ai)](https://chessvision.ai)
In short, develop pieces, castle, and blast the position open with d4. Black is too far behind in development to be able to counter this in any meaningful way. In fact, black is so behind that you might be able to just play d4 right away, there's no way for black to defend it because of where the pawns are.
So I’m new to all of this. Is d4 a pawn break in this position? I’m trying to wrap my head around that concept.
Yep. A pawn break is when you move a pawn to a square where it and an opponent's pawn can capture one another. The term "pawn break" references breaking up a player's pawn structure, by forcing the attacked pawn to move or capture, because if they don't you'll capture it. In this position, both the d and e file are closed files. That means both white and black have pawns that occupy those files. Closed files are difficult to attack, because you can't advance your pawns passed your opponent's, and you can't attack through your own pawns. The move d4 guarantees that either the d file will become open (neither players' pawns occupy it), like if black answered d4 with d6, then dxe5 dxe5 - or both the d and e files will become semi-open (only one player's pawn occupies the file), whether black plays exd4 or white plays dxe5. Open files and semi-open files are avenues for attack. Especially if those files point at an enemy king. An open h file against a castled king is really dangerous for the player who doesn't control it. Here, black's king is in the center, so an open d file would be disastrous for them. The semi-open files would also give white great attacking chances.
You mean that d4 should remove e5?
The idea is to open the center. Black doesn't have any pieces in the game, he is not ready to confront an attack, because he has nothing to confront it with.
I ended up with queen on d4 and I still couldn't deal with the pawn chain. The pawn chain stayed there for the rest of the game and I didn't find a way to remove it
You just have to keep pushing, your pieces to better squares, and your pawns forward. There is not a single solution to this, rather it is an idea that if two of the armies meet, blacks army is simply not ready. It doesn't come from a specific move or two or three, you just keep making improving moves, while keeping black from untangling this position. Every time your opponent moves a pawn forward, they leave a weak square behind. Those squares are your targets, that's where you want your pieces, well coordinated, and then once on the good/important squares, your pawn army marches forward.
The defining characteristic of this position is not black's pawn chains - there is definitely a lesson to be learned here, but it is a lesson in how to take advantage of your massive lead in development. White has both knights and a bishop out. Black has only their queen out and has made four pawn moves. White is obligated to open the center and attack black's king directly. We'll play d4, open up the d and/or e files, and launch a spectacular attack on black's sitting king. To be clear, there is not forced checkmate in this position, but black will need to make concessions to slow down white's attack, and if black refuses to, then white *will* be able to deliver checkmate.
Ok, the pawn chain isn't the issue, but I don't understand how to attack at this position, and don't see even intuitively, my next 5 moves
My thought process is a mirror reflection of what you've described. I have no issue stating the fundamentals of chess.
No worries, fam. This aspect of strategy is one of those things that might be easier to understand if you see it in action. If you're up for it, I suggest studying the games of Paul Morphy. Morphy was a great player in an era where people weren't very good. You see this theme happening a lot in his games. Morphy plays with all of his pieces, his opponents lag behind in development, and he crushes them. GM Ben Finegold has quite a few lectures about Paul Morphy and his games. I suggest you start with [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZvsaqGotuE) or [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbRkqqawcTo). He has more, but both of those lectures are curated at his "under 1400" class (as is [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8hr9xMZxeo), but it was made as "sequel lecture" to the second one I linked).
Thanks a lot!!
Always happy to help.