Pawn Structure 101: Sicilian – Scheveningen

1. Pawn Structure 101: Sicilian – Scheveningen

2. The pawn structure journey continues, and we are now headed to one of the most exciting destinations: the Sicilian – Scheveningenstructure! Whether you are an aggressive and sharp player who likes to meet 1.e4 with the Sicilian defense, or have already realized that it is important to study pawn structures even if they are not a part of your opening repertoire, stick around and get ready to enter this world of possibilities.This structure has a reputation for creating exciting and dynamic possibilities for both sides and leading to sharp and complex middlegame positions, where often creative ideas will be around the corner.

3. This is an accurate description of it, but remember that even if you consider yourself to be a more positional and calm player who does not like to face complications, pawn structures are at the heart of deep chess knowledge, and you will always benefit from learning them.Let’s get started!What does the Sicilian – Scheveningen pawn structure look like?

4. This is our starting position, and the one we will keep coming back to all along. As you can tell, White’s pawns are placed on a2, b2, c2, e4, f2, g2 and h2, while Black’s stand on a7, b7, d6, e6, f7, g7 and h7.

5. An experienced chess player will be able to tell you in the blink of an eye that this position came from a Sicilian defense. Why? Well, because the main factor that distinguishes an open Sicilian structure is the fact that White’s d-pawn has been exchanged for Black’s c-pawn.From this basic statement, we can already gather a lot of information about the position: White has exchanged one of his two central pawns, which gives Black a majority in the centre. Given this advantage, Black will aim to breakthrough in the centre either with d6-d5 or e6-e5, choosing the right moment to do so. We will cover this in detail in the next sections.

6. To compensate for that, White has a semi-open d-file. Specifically in the Scheveningen Sicilian, when Black’s pawns are already advanced to d6 and e6, play along this file trying to weaken the d6 pawn will be of great importance for White, especially by attacking it with major pieces.That being said, Black also has the c-file to explore on his own, and you will catch a glimpse of happiness in the eyes of any Sicilian player when they have this file to play on. Many tactical themes can arise from this, like a Rook being sacrificed for a Knight on c3 or a powerful Black Knight coming into c4 to weaken the b2 pawn.

7. The b2-c2-c3 complex can be exploited by Black in many different ways. Take a look at the diagram 1b, extracted from the game Torre-Espig from 1977, to see these ideas in practice.

8. The grandmaster Eugenio Torre’s next move was to sacrifice the exchange on c3 to weaken the b2-c2-c3 complex (in red) and prepared his Knight to jump to the c4 square, where it will be ideally placed.These are the fundamentals of many pawn structures which come from the Sicilian defense, but we shall now focus only on the Scheveningen structure and see what shapes its character, and how we can learn to play it with mastery. Ideal setup for White

9. Here’s a diagram for you to understand White’s plans visually. The ideal setup for the pieces, even if it depends on the particularities of each given position, would be to place a Rook on d1, a Queen on d2 and a Bishop on e3. This way, White can put pressure on the d6 weakness while at the same time attacking on the Kingside.

10. Ideal setup for BlackBlack rightfully deserves a diagram of his own ideal setup. As we’ve seen, the most crucial points of Black’s plan are to play on the c-file and push the pawn to d5. These are the main ideas regardless of what White chooses to play, but a few details depend on each given position, such as the King’s placement (in the middle or castled on the Kingside) and the g7-g5 idea.

11. You can find good examples of this by studying the commented games on the previous section.How do you reach this pawn structure?If you’ve already been roaming the chess streets for a while now, you may know that the Sicilian – Scheveningen pawn structure actually shares its name with the name of a chess opening: the Scheveningen variation of the Sicilian.While there are several move orders to reach this variation, the most classical one goes as follows:e4 c5Nf3 d6d4 cxd4

12. Nxd4 Nf6Nc3 e6In Sicilian pawn structures, it’s quite important to pair our strategic studies with some opening theory and general chess knowledge in order to understand them as deeply as possible – as you may know, the Sicilian is one of the most theoretically developed openings in chess.

13. Just to give you a brief overview about the Scheveningen Sicilian’s history, it can be said that its name came from a tournament in the village with the same name, in The Netherlands, which took place in 1923. After that, many great players have showcased this opening in their games, one of them being the former World Champion Garry Kasparov. However, in the last few years and mostly at top level, this move order has decreased in popularity.

14. That happened due to a sharp and dangerous variation White can employ, which is called the Keres attack. In this line, White advances the pawns very quickly and presents Black with an undesired set of problems right from the earliest stage of the game. The Keres attack can be reached continuing from the above diagram:g4 h6h4 Nc6Rg1

15. White can afford to be so aggressive from early on as the e6 pawn is blocking the c8 Bishop from reaching the light squares, especially g4, and the main plan will be to harass the f6 Knight with the move g4-g5, condemning it to inactivity. If you have the Black pieces and your opponent goes for this variation, the first thing to do is not to panic when you see pawns being launched forwards. A good idea to counter White’s plans, and the main theoretical move after 6.g4, is to reply with 6…h6.

16. This move prevents White from playing g5, which is the natural continuation after g4. Many chess players feel uncomfortable facing such a sharp variation, especially against well-prepared opponents, so they have looked for another way to play their beloved Scheveningen Sicilian while avoiding the Keres attack. To do so, they have moved from the Scheveningen Sicilian classical move order into a different one, starting from the Najdorf variation.The “pure” Najdorf sees Black playing e7-e5 more often than e7-e6, but players who prefer the Scheveningen will choose their favorite structure – however, e7-e5 is also a perfectly good move.

17. They are just two distinct ways of playing the same position, and often Black will even strive to play e7-e5 later on, transposing to a Najdorf structure. We will cover the e7-e5 advance in greater depth in the article on the Sicilian – Boleslavskypawn structure.The main difference between the Najdorf and the Scheveningen is that the Najdorf includes a very early a6 for Black – however,in most positions of the Scheveningen this is an useful move. In fact, a6 is played almost always after the first introductory moves of this opening – just not as early as it is in the Najdorf Sicilian. This move order, while avoiding the Keres attack, gives White a whole set of different options, many of which are also dangerous for Black.

18. We can reach the same structure in this way:e4 c5Nf3 d6d4 cxd4Nxd4 Nf6Nc3 a6Be3 e6

19. Please note that White has a great deal of options on move 6 – placing the Bishop on e3 is one of the most popular ones, intending to pursue the English Attack, but many others are possible, such as 6.Bc4, 6.Bg5, 6.Be2 or 6.h3. The English Attack can be as threatening for Black as the Keres Attack in many situations. White’s ideas are simply to castle long and attack on the Queenside, which also leads to extremely sharp positions.This comes to show that there is rarely a way to avoid a variation without running into other dangerous possibilities: it’s up to the player who has the Black pieces to decide which lines he feels more comfortable facing.

20. You might be wondering at this point exactly why do chess players choose to play the Sicilian when it is such a dangerous opening – the truth is that it is an opening that is full of counterchances, and in many occasions Black will also have the possibility of attacking the enemy King. When he doesn’t, he focuses on the fact that White’s pawn storm attacks expose his position too much, and tries to exploit potential weaknesses.Now that you know exactly how to find your way from the opening, and have even learned a little bit of theory, it’s time to sit back and discuss the position in greater detail, to try to figure out what is really happening on the board when this pawn structure is reached.

21. What are the characteristics of this pawn structure?From the first two sections of this article, you have certainly come to understand that the Sicilian – Scheveningenpawn structure really does present any chess player with a rich world of challenges and possibilities. Moreover, you now know that the way to reach it is with the Sicilian defense, whether it may be with the classical Scheveningenmove order or the more modern Najdorfmove order. However, these few things that you already know are useful, but clearly they are not enough to truly come to a description of the position – there is still a lot more to learn about this structure.

22. As you have read before, structures that come from an open Sicilian have a common characteristic: White’s d-pawn has been exchanged for Black’s c-pawn. You already know that this does shape the character of the position, given that much of White’s play will happen along the d-file, whereas Black will try to put as much power as possible on his own territory, the c-file.A common theme that will accompany you in your pawn structure journey all along is that it is almost always impossible to define who is better in a given position by considering only the placement of the pawns. However, in which concerns the Sicilian structures

23. it is commonly believed that Black has more potential in the centre.It is very clear why this happens: White has exchanged a central pawn, which left Black with more presence on this crucial area of the board.While Black’s centre in the Scheveningen structure can appear to be quite modest, as the pawns are not very further advanced, this is actually not only a rather solid setup, with the increased control of the d5 and e5 squares, but it is also an extremely flexible one.Black will keep his chances out in the open, as he might advance either d5

24. (the main plan to breakthrough in the centre) or even e5, depending on the situation, proceeding with rapid development full of counterchances and piece activity.

25. From White’s point of view, the position also offers many chances for sharp and creative play.As you have seen from the ultra-aggressive Keres attack, White will often try to grab an even bigger space advantage from early on, while putting Black’s pieces in an uncomfortable, passive position, and threatening a direct attack to the King.The plan of playing g4-g5 is not the only aggressive setup White can adopt: f4-f5 and e4-e5 are other dangerous way to pursue the attack.

26. For each of these pawn pushes White will have to assure that the timing is right: this basically means that there are no breakthroughs in the centre for Black, especially that the move d6-d5 is not possible. The g4-g5 setup is more aggressive and direct, and can be played right from the beginning of the game, while f4-f5 and e4-e5 are more positional ideas that have to be prepared for a few moves.Again, it comes down to taste: players who are theoretically well-prepared and enjoy the sharpest of positions will feel very much at home playing g4-g5, while ambitious, yet careful chess players will most likely prefer to prepare an f4-f5 or e4-e5 attack, not showing their intentions too early.As naturally White already enjoys an advantage in space and development, these plans have to be carefully met by Black, who will have to know what he is doing if he does not want to be trapped in muddy waters right from the beginning of the game.

27. This essentially means that Black will have to know some opening theory (for instance, h6 against the Keres attack, as we have mentioned in the previous section) and have good calculation and tactical skills, to spot all of White’s threats and defend against them.At this point, it is fair to pause the analysis to ask the most important question: knowing all of this information, who stands better in this pawn structure?The answer is it depends, of course.Each side has its own arguments to claim an advantage and its own strengths and weaknesses.It comes down to the evaluation of each individual position – and also to each player’s personal taste!

28. Perhaps if you are a sharp and aggressive player you would prefer to have the White pieces in this structure, as there are more chances to attack – Black will not have the chance to attack the King in every position. If you are a positional player, you are not forced to attack, and there are also calmer ways to play with White. If you are the kind of player whose goal is to invite the opponent to come forward to then present him with many counterchances and problems, then you definitely should consider playing the Sicilian defense with Black!Pawns provide us with great amounts of basic information, but of course pieces are of extreme importance. There are also other important aspects in the position, such as King safety and strategic concepts like space, initiative and central control.

29. The Sicilian – Scheveningenstructure is a rather untouched one, as not many pawns have moved forwards or been exchanged. Due to this, its character is hard to define with accuracy, as many distinct plans can be carried out for both sides: there are more positional, calmer ways to play, and there is aggressive, sharp, attacking play.Something that will help define which type of play we are going to encounter is to analyze White’s King position. In this structure, it is possible for White to castle both to the Kingside and Queenside, while Black will most likely castle Kingside, since the c-file is open and he will not want to expose his King in such a way.

30. If White castles Queenside, then certainly he will have venomous intentions of entering an opposite-side castling position – and he will try to produce a pawn storm on the Kingside to threaten Black’s King. On Black’s end, pawns will also be pushed to attack White’s King on the Queenside (with moves like a5-a4, b5-b4). The following diagram shows how the opposite forces plan to attack each other.

31. If White castles Queenside, then certainly he will have venomous intentions of entering an opposite-side castling position – and he will try to produce a pawn storm on the Kingside to threaten Black’s King. On Black’s end, pawns will also be pushed to attack White’s King on the Queenside (with moves like a5-a4, b5-b4). The following diagram shows how the opposite forces plan to attack each other.

32. All of this being said, let’s try to summarize everything we have learned so far and make a list of the most important characteristics of this pawn structure:White’s positionGenerally, White enjoys a lead in development and space;The d-file is half open and d6 is a potential weakness. White can exploit this by placing major pieces (Rooks and Queen) on this file to put pressure on the weak pawn;There are many possibilities to advance the Kingside pawns and generate a dangerous attack;

33. Black’s positionBlack has two pawns versus one in the centre, which grants him the possibility to break through with either d5 or e5; The c-file is half open and there are potential weaknesses on the c2-b2-c3 complex; If White relocates his King to the Queenside, there is a possibility of building an attack by advancing the pawns, especially with a5-a4 and b5-b4.This knowledge is valuable, but all of these characteristics are of no use without plans – in the next section, we will discuss exactly how to exploit each of these.

34. Now that we have a clearer outlook on the Sicilian – Scheveningenpawn structure, time has come to discuss how the position should really be played, and to analyze White’s and Black’s chances in practice.How do you play in this pawn structure?As you have extensively read by now, the Sicilian – Scheveningenpawn structure rings the following few words: sharp, aggressive, complex, among others.While all of this helps us roughly know which kind of position we are getting to, in chess strategy it is a crucial to be able to build a good plan, while anticipating our opponent’s main options.

35. It is now time to find out exactly how to do so in this pawn structure.Firstly, it is important to keep ourstrengths and weaknesses list in mind, as exploiting them will be the ultimate goal of our plan.Let’s start by taking a look at what White can do. As we now know, White will often adopt an aggressive setup, either by going for g4-g5 from early on, or by preparing f4-f5 or e4-e5 – in any case, attacking the enemy King is the main goal. As you may remember from the previous section, White has to ensure the move d6-d5 is not possible for Black before launching an attack,

36. and g4-g5 is usually played earlier on in the game, while f4-f5 and e4-e5 need more preparation. This happens because they are closer to the centre, and it’s best to safeguard the King and develop the pieces before playing them, as Black may be able to counterattack with d6-d5 more easily. The best way to see these attacking chances in practice is to study a few top level games – and we will start by studying a game between the Chinese grandmaster Yu Yangyi and his fellow countrywoman HouYifan, the top women’s chess player nowadays.This game took place in the Gibraltar open tournament of 2015.

37. After the first few introductory moves, we have reached the position in diagram 1i, where White has played natural development moves, already looking to launch the Kingside pawns forward: f4, Qf3 and long castling.

38. Playing f4 is a natural move because it helps expanding on the Kingside, and f3 is a good square for the Queen because it supports both the f4-f5 and g4-g5 advances, while allowing the King to castle. It’s important to develop the pieces and protect the King before launching the pawns forward, as leaving the King in the middle would leave it even more vulnerable to d6-d5 breakthroughs by Black.On the other hand, Black has also developed in natural Scheveningen style: the Bishop to e7, the Queen to c7 and the Knight to c6, preparing to castle and start his own attack towards the White King. It must be said that e7 is the only good square for the Bishop, given that there is a pawn on d6 for the time being. The queen goes to c7 as it will be occupying the open c-file, and the Knight on c6 has prospects of going to a5 and e5, keeping an eye on the c4 square.

39. The game continued:0-0-0 a6 g4 Nd7 g5 b5

40. We see the attacking ideas beginning to gain shape at this point, and how White is already further advanced on the Kingside than Black is on the Queenside. Please note that White decided to push the g-pawn instead of the h-pawn as h4 would allow Black to block the position by playing h5. When Black gets the chance to play h5, it’s usually wise to take it: it prevents White from pushing either g4 or h5 himself, and drastically reduces his attacking chances. However, Black should only play this if White plays h4 instead of g4 – if the pawns are still on h2 and g2, White can still break open with h3-g4. The best way to avoid an unpleasant h5 is to do as Yu Yangyi did: play g4 as soon as the attack begins.

41. A few moves later, we see White taking all of the pawns into the enemy land successfully: Bd3 Nc5Kb1 Bb7h4 Rc8h5

42. The h-pawn has joined the party, and White now enjoys a great advantage in space as all of the pawns are cramping up Black’s Kingside. Of course, it must be said that it was intelligent for Black to leave the King in the middle. While that is often unadvisable due to central breakthroughs that can occur, in this position His Majesty is safer there, a little bit further away from White’s pawn storm. Each position is a different one, and you must know how to evaluate the risks of leaving your King in the middle of the board. However, it can be said that if there is a big pawn storm going on on the Kingside, it will most likely be safer there.

43. In the meantime, while White’s pawns strolled forwards, Black has also played consistently and improved his position by bringing the pieces out to their best squares: the Rook to c8, the Bishop to b7 and the Knight to c5. It’s clear that the Rook must go to c8, as the c-file is Black’s access route to the enemy King. The Bishop needs to move out of the way so that the Rook can go there, and b7 is the most natural square, as it also maintains pressure on the e4 pawn – the same goes for the c5 Knight, which also puts pressure on this pawn and on other relevant squares, such as a4, b3 and d3.The position is probably fairly equal at this point, but it surely is more dangerous to play with Black, as many deadly threats can come from White’s end.

44. A few moves later, White achieved the goal of his attack:15… Nxd4Bxd4 b4Ne2 e5Bxc5 Qxc5g6!

45. Playing g6 is the ultimate goal of this kind of attack White can carry out –  and that’s because now Black’s pawns near the King are questioned, especially the vulnerable f7, and Black has not advanced his pawns further enough to present his own threats.HouYifan managed to present tenacious defense and hold the game down to a draw, but in this position White certainly enjoys an advantage and the best chances to win the game are on his side. Another game where we see this g6 idea in practice was Muzychuk – Kosintseva, from the Women’s Grand Prix of 2013 in Dilijan.

46. The position in diagram 1o was achieved:This position might not appear to bear a lot of similarities with diagram 1n: Black’s King has castled, and White’s pawns are not as further advanced.

47. However, g6 was an extremely well-played move in both cases, as the main goal of any attack is to provoke weaknesses on the enemy field, and that’s exactly this move does. Here, it threatens to destroy Black’s pawn shield, and if it gets taken with the f-pawn, Bh3 will be a very strong move, targeting the e6 weakness. Black did not manage to find a way to deal with the pressure in this game, and eventually lost.If it gets taken with the h-pawn, White gets a strong chance of playing h5 and opening the h-file: if this happens, deadly threats with Rook and Queen can come up. At this point, there is already not much Black can do to counter this dangerous attack – what he should do before is try to get his own attack to be as threatening as possible.

48. The Rook should already have gone to c8 before, and the pawns should have been advanced further. A different way to attack for White, as we have mentioned before, would be to play f4 followed by e5 – this is a rather distinct kind of play, as the attack will more often be played by maneuvering pieces. This is not as exposing as the g4 push, hence why some players prefer to go for this slower attack. By playing e5, White is seeking to counter Black’s centre and challenge the f6 Knight. Also, White gets the e4 square for a piece, most likely a Knight, which may even jump to d6 supported by the e5 pawn.

49. If this happens, as we will see in the next few games, Black should most likely try to close the centre with d5. If he can do this, White’s attack will not be as dangerous and the e4 square will be covered.Also, more often than not, White’s King also castles Kingside and finds a safe spot on the h1 square.Let’s take a look at this illustrative position, extracted from the game Kotsur – Kurnosov, from the Russian Championship of 2002.

50. This is the way to play if you want to go for a f4-e5 kind of attack: safeguard the King on h1 to avoid potential threats on the open a7-g1 diagonal, which will be open after the move f4, and maneuver the pieces, especially the Bishop to f3. At the same time, White has a major idea that has already been played in this position: to bring a pawn from a2 to a4 and then to a5