6

I often find myself in positions with the Carlsbad pawn structure, and I really struggle to come up with a plan. I am usually the one with the pawn chain pointing toward the queenside, so I assume that I should be focusing my play over there with things like the minority attack. However, I have recently found the minority attack to be unsuccessful for one main reason. The moment I push my b-pawn to b5 in the position shown below, white can respond with b4, instantly shutting down all of my play. Even though b4 creates a hole on c4, I also have a hole on c5 which my opponent can take advantage of with his knight. At this point, I have no idea what to do, and my opponent can play on the kingside with moves like f4-f5.

Question: How should black (in this case) play after white plays b4?

This is the type of position I get into as black.

[FEN "1K1RR3/P1PQ3P/1PN1BP2/4P1P1/1B2p1p1/3pbn2/ppp1nq1p/1k1r2r1 b - - 0 1"]
[startflipped ""]

1 Answer 1

3

In general, a good plan in these situations is to then advance in the centre (either with ...f6-...e5 or just ...e5). When the position opens up, White will have a clear weakness on c3, which could be even more vulnerable than your d5-pawn. In addition, if you exchange off the d4-pawn with ...e5, White's control over the c5-square becomes weakened. However, your grip over c4 remains strong.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.