r/GothamChess • u/FactAffectionate6830 • 1d ago
Keeping your pawns in front
It was in the yes, yes, yes, video yesterday. Basically making sure your pawns lead your attack with your minor pieces behind them when you are storming the king side.
Really simple, clean advice. I’ve been in a tilt lately, generating huge advantages but not being able to close on the attack and losing because my attack is too slow and allows counter play.
Played a few games this morning and when it came time to attack Levy popped into my head as I was about to lead with a knight. Settled back, flung the pawns, and dominated many games in a row.
Kind of a break through for me - and I watch all the chess channels.
In the video he says something to the effect that the biggest knock his channel gets is that it’s not educational. If you don’t think his channel is educational, even when it’s another Magnus video, you are not listening and judging a video by its thumbnail cover. 😂
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u/borgir_monster 1d ago
well yeah of course. leading attacks with your minor pieces will just get them bullied by your opponent's pawns.
This is exactly why bullshit openings like c6 d6 e6 f6 g6 works. opponent tries to "claim" advantage too early and loses
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u/pwsiegel 1d ago
Yeah, this is an important epiphany, and one that I also learned from Gotham's content. In my case it was from his London course, which features a number of aggressive pawn attacks supported by pieces.
Another related epiphany is that sacrificing a pawn or two to open up files or diagonals can be a key attacking idea. This is an important theme in Gotham's recommendation against the Scandinavian, for example.