Answers.Body: <p>A piece (often a bad bishop, but in your second example a queen) which is doing nothing more than protecting a few squares is often called a big pawn. To be honest, I don't find your second example a real case of a 'big pawn', because the queen can easily move away and do something useful. And, as Dag Oskar Madsen mentions, in the first example the <em>pawn breakthrough</em> is big, not the pawn itself.</p>
  
  <p>In the position below, the white bishop is a typical example of a big pawn, because of Black's dominance on the dark squares:</p>
  
  <pre><code>[FEN "r4r2/5pkp/1q1pb1p1/2p1n3/2P1P3/1P3P2/2BN2PP/1R1Q1RK1 b - - 0 1"]
  </code></pre>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-07-20T12:05:02.387Z
Answers.Text: "In the position below, the white bishop is a typical example of a big pawn", so a bishop can be a big pawn?
Answers.UserDisplayName: hkBst
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-07-16T15:14:50.970Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2016-07-17T06:53:25.713Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2016-07-17T06:53:25.713Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Glorfindel
Answers.Body: <p>The term <em>big pawn</em> is usually used to mean an ineffective bishop trapped behind its own pawns. An example from the game Charousek-Maroczy, Budapest 1895:</p>
  
  <pre><code>[FEN "6rk/1pp3p1/1r3p1p/p3nP1P/P1PpP3/1P1P4/2B1K1R1/6R1 w - - 0 1"]
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>In this position, the white bishop is just doing the work of a pawn and doesn't have any bigger prospects.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-07-16T15:25:06.693Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2016-07-16T15:50:16.417Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2016-07-16T15:50:16.417Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Dag Oskar Madsen
Answers.Body: <p>As mentioned, the first one refers to the amount and importance of pawn play throughout that game. </p>
  
  <p>The second example seems to be making a joke about how the Queen is so ineffective in its position that it might as well be a pawn. If you play through the puzzle you see that it is not able to prevent the sequence. </p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-07-16T15:24:42.613Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2016-07-16T15:24:42.613Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: chackerian
Body: <p>I've seen the term "big pawn" come up a few times (such as <a href="https://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/the-big-pawn-breakthrough" rel="noreferrer">here</a> and <a href="https://www.chess.com/forum/view/more-puzzles/big-pawn-on-c2" rel="noreferrer">here</a>), but I can't seem to trace down an exact definition. What is it?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-07-16T15:03:11.827Z
Comments.Text: In your first example it's the *breakthrough* that is big, not any of the pawns.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Dag Oskar Madsen
Tags: <pawns><terminology><pieces>
Title: What is a "big pawn"?
ThreadText: # What is a "big pawn"?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2016-07-16)
  
  I've seen the term "big pawn" come up a few times (such as [here](https://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/the-big-pawn-breakthrough) and [here](https://www.chess.com/forum/view/more-puzzles/big-pawn-on-c2)), but I can't seem to trace down an exact definition. What is it?
  
  **Tags:** pawns, terminology, pieces
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: In your first example it's the *breakthrough* that is big, not any of the pawns.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 3 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2016-07-16. Score: 6 | Accepted answer
  
  A piece (often a bad bishop, but in your second example a queen) which is doing nothing more than protecting a few squares is often called a big pawn. To be honest, I don't find your second example a real case of a 'big pawn', because the queen can easily move away and do something useful. And, as username_1 mentions, in the first example the pawn breakthrough is big, not the pawn itself.
  In the position below, the white bishop is a typical example of a big pawn, because of Black's dominance on the dark squares:
  [FEN "r4r2/5pkp/1q1pb1p1/2p1n3/2P1P3/1P3P2/2BN2PP/1R1Q1RK1 b - - 0 1"]
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_3**: "In the position below, the white bishop is a typical example of a big pawn", so a bishop can be a big pawn?  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2016-07-16. Score: 6
  
  The term big pawn is usually used to mean an ineffective bishop trapped behind its own pawns. An example from the game Charousek-Maroczy, Budapest 1895:
  [FEN "6rk/1pp3p1/1r3p1p/p3nP1P/P1PpP3/1P1P4/2B1K1R1/6R1 w - - 0 1"]
  
  In this position, the white bishop is just doing the work of a pawn and doesn't have any bigger prospects.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_4 on 2016-07-16. Score: 2
  
  As mentioned, the first one refers to the amount and importance of pawn play throughout that game.
  
  The second example seems to be making a joke about how the Queen is so ineffective in its position that it might as well be a pawn. If you play through the puzzle you see that it is not able to prevent the sequence.
  
  
  ---
  
  