In the Carlsbad pawn structure, a common plan for White is to advance the a- and b-pawns in a minority attack.
In chess, a minority attack is the advancement of one's pawns on the side of the board where one has fewer pawns than their opponent, intending to use their minority to strategically provoke a weakness (i.e, an isolated or backward pawn) in the opponent's pawn structure.[1] The minority attack is a common middlegame plan that can be played in many pawn structures. The name might be misleading, as the "attack" does not involve tactics planned to produce checkmate or significant material gain, but rather a strategical and structural advantage for the attacking player.[2][3][4]
The minority attack can be strengthened by the moving of one or both rooks to the files where the attacking player intends to advance their pawns, planning prophylactically for the opening of the files. Common openings that result in pawn structures where a minority attack is effective include the Queen's Gambit Declined and the Caro–Kann Defense. The minority attack occurs most commonly on the queenside , as players commonly castle kingside in openings where a minority attack is effective, and the advancement of the pawns on the side of the castled king is widely considered to severely weaken the king's safety.[5][6][7]
Examples
Karpov vs. Lautier, Dortmund 1995
Karpov vs. Lautier, 1995
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This game, lauded as an example of a successful minority attack, demonstrates the goals and execution of the attack. In the diagrammed position, Anatoly Karpov has just played 20.b4! initiating the minority attack against grandmaster Joël Lautier.
provoking a weakness and threatening to severely damage Black's pawn structure by capturing on a6 or c6, creating an isolated pawn and leaving Lautier three pawn islands.
27... axb5 28. axb5
The game lasted 44 moves before Lautier resigned due to Karpov's passed d-pawn and the weakness of Black's c-pawn.[8]
Petrosian vs. Krogius, Tbilisi 1959
Petrosian vs. Krogius, 1959
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In this position, World Champion Tigran Petrosian has just played 12.b4 against grandmaster Nikolai Krogius, initiating the minority attack and intending to advance both the a- and b-pawns to provoke weaknesses in Black's queenside majority .
After
12... Bf5 13. Bxf5 Nxf5
Petrosian played
14. b5!
On move 22, the advancement of White's queenside pawns resulted in a destruction of Black's queenside pawn structure and the creation of two isolated pawns for Black, creating a decisive advantage for Petrosian.[9]
Seirawan vs. Tal, Niksic 1983
Seirawan vs. Tal, 1983
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In this position, Syrian-American grandmaster Yasser Seirawan has just played 13.b4 against the former world champion Mikhail Tal, expanding his a- and b-pawn minority on the queenside against Tal's a-, b-, and c-pawn majority.
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