Body: <p>In some openings, i.e. the Stonewall Attack / Maroczy Bind, the opponent gets an iron grip over a particular square (e5 / d5) by controlling it with two pawns, and they can stick a knight there. People are often very reluctant to trade this knight off, even if it's a very powerful piece that controls a lot of squares in the opponent's territory. In concrete terms, why would trading off for the knight (via capturing on e5 / d5) generally be bad for Black?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-05-21T18:53:19.847Z
Comments.Text: Chess is not that simple. There is no answer to that type of question. If there were, you'd be able to buy a book titled something like "The Strategic Principles of Chess" and you'd become a Grandmaster after you read it. Unfortuantely, there's no meaningful answer that doesn't boil down to "when it's good for your position".
Comments.UserDisplayName: David
Tags: <strategy><pawns><trading>
Title: When should you trade off a piece that's defended by two pawns?
ThreadText: # When should you trade off a piece that's defended by two pawns?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2021-05-21)
  
  In some openings, i.e. the Stonewall Attack / Maroczy Bind, the opponent gets an iron grip over a particular square (e5 / d5) by controlling it with two pawns, and they can stick a knight there. People are often very reluctant to trade this knight off, even if it's a very powerful piece that controls a lot of squares in the opponent's territory. In concrete terms, why would trading off for the knight (via capturing on e5 / d5) generally be bad for Black?
  
  **Tags:** strategy, pawns, trading
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: Chess is not that simple. There is no answer to that type of question. If there were, you'd be able to buy a book titled something like "The Strategic Principles of Chess" and you'd become a Grandmaster after you read it. Unfortuantely, there's no meaningful answer that doesn't boil down to "when it's good for your position".  
  
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  ## 0 answers
  
  