I noticed that if white has a pawn on c4 after:

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6

this is called the kings indian defense

but after,

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 etc.

this is called the pirc defense.

what difference does having your pawn on c2 vs c4 make ?

Also,

I was reading Yermolinsky's book and he says that Benoni players like
it when white has his pawn on c4 but do not like it when the knight is
on c3 and the pawn is still on c2. I was wondering why this was the
case since I would think a pawn on c4 gives more central space.

thanks

"Alex Dvorak" wrote in message
om...
I noticed that if white has a pawn on c4 after:

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6

this is called the kings indian defense

but after,

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 etc.

this is called the pirc defense.

what difference does having your pawn on c2 vs c4 make ?

A quick answer is the difference in the control of d3, d4, and d5. This is
not a complete answer.


Also,

I was reading Yermolinsky's book and he says that Benoni players like
it when white has his pawn on c4 but do not like it when the knight is
on c3 and the pawn is still on c2. I was wondering why this was the
case since I would think a pawn on c4 gives more central space.

There are a lot of tactical motifs in the Benoni regarding the reach of the
g7 bishop down the long diagonal. A pawn on c2 still has the option of
going to c3. White has better control of d4 when the pawn is on c2 because
of this option.

You asked in your other post about fixing weaknesses. You might consider
doing some reading on pawn structures, and playing through some master games
that derived from Benoni openings with an eye on this motif. See how often
white is fighting against threats against the a1 rook, the b2 pawn, and the
c3 knight. See how black attacks often get rolling when the dark squared
bishop has access to d4, and thus the d4-g1 diagonal. You might find this
demonstrated more readily in class-level games, where white may not meet the
threats as skillfully.

I don't have it handy, but I also seem to recall that Yermo makes some
comment about the Benoni having been of great interest in master play due to
the problems associated with the resolution of the pawn structure. I found
this to be a bit beyond me, and plan to reread this section at a later date.


thanks

And thank you. Even if I didn't help you, I helped myself by verbalizing
some thoughts on this.

David


--
without the block

Besides the obvious space advantage, an advanced pawn can also lay the
foundation for future pawn "breaks" (see Heisman's article at ChessCafe.com)
or "levers" as Hans Kmoch termed it in his book _Pawn Power in Chess_.

In the KID, White very often plays on the queenside, pushing his c- and
b-pawns up the board to open lines and create weaknesses. In the Pirc,
White's play is very often on the kingside and a thematic move is f4 to
support e5.

Really, the two go hand in hand. Your pieces typically have more mobility
where you have more space, and mobile pieces love open lines.

"Alex Dvorak" wrote in message
om...
I noticed that if white has a pawn on c4 after:

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6

this is called the kings indian defense

but after,

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 etc.

this is called the pirc defense.

what difference does having your pawn on c2 vs c4 make ?

On 12 Jan 2004 10:38:15 -0800, (Alex Dvorak) wrote:

I noticed that if white has a pawn on c4 after:

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6

this is called the kings indian defense

but after,

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 etc.

this is called the pirc defense.

what difference does having your pawn on c2 vs c4 make ?


In general, it is better for the pawn to be on c2 rather than c4. If
the pawn is on c2 then the bishop can go to c4. Also, the pawn on c4
is a target which can be undermined with a6 followed by b5.

In some cases where White has an option, he is better off not to play
c4. For example, after 1. d4 c5 2. d5 Nf6, White should not play 3.
c4. Instead, White should play 3. Nc3 followed by 4. e4.

Sam Sloan

In the Pirc White plays for the thematic e5 push. c4 does nothing to
help with this. In The King's Indian Black plays e5, weakening d5,
which c4 helps to control for white..

In article ,
(Sam Sloan) wrote:

In general, it is better for the pawn to be on c2 rather than c4. If
the pawn is on c2 then the bishop can go to c4. Also, the pawn on c4
is a target which can be undermined with a6 followed by b5.

sometimes, but certainly not in Queen's Gambit and related openings.

It has not been mentioned that the c4 pawn has the often important
possibility of opening the c-file for white, after which positng a rook
of the Queen on the half-open file is a frequent motif in Queen pawn
openings.

Henri