Answers.Body: <p>Yes. The main reason to move your d- and e-pawns forward is to control the center with them. The fact that they allow the bishops to be developed is secondary. (Often bishops are fianchettoed anyway.)</p>
  
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Answers.CreationDate: 2014-03-10T15:24:55.697Z
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Answers.Body: <p>The hypermoderns thought that pawn centers were weaknesses subject to attack. Thus came about defenses designed to "entice" center building while developing a way to undermine them. See defenses like the Alekhine or the King's Indian where this is exactly what is done. This is still an undecided question, although current theory believes that occupying the center with pawns is a strength, not a weakness.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-03-10T21:59:52.510Z
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Body: <p>In most openings, pawns typically end up at some of the centre squares. There is really no other way to open up the long diagonals(c1-h6,a6-f1) for the bishops. However, how desirable is this? Hypothetically speaking, assuming there were some special rules in chess which allowed bishops to be developed along these long diagonals without having to push away the e and d pawns, would these pawns still end up getting pushed onto the centre squares? </p>
  
Tags: <pawns><positional-play><pawn-structure><center>
Title: Pawns in the center: strength or weakness?
ThreadText: # Pawns in the center: strength or weakness?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2014-03-10)
  
  In most openings, pawns typically end up at some of the centre squares. There is really no other way to open up the long diagonals(c1-h6,a6-f1) for the bishops. However, how desirable is this? Hypothetically speaking, assuming there were some special rules in chess which allowed bishops to be developed along these long diagonals without having to push away the e and d pawns, would these pawns still end up getting pushed onto the centre squares?
  
  **Tags:** pawns, positional-play, pawn-structure, center
  
  
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  ## 2 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2014-03-10. Score: 4
  
  Yes. The main reason to move your d- and e-pawns forward is to control the center with them. The fact that they allow the bishops to be developed is secondary. (Often bishops are fianchettoed anyway.)
  
  
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  ### Answer by username_2 on 2014-03-10. Score: 3
  
  The hypermoderns thought that pawn centers were weaknesses subject to attack. Thus came about defenses designed to "entice" center building while developing a way to undermine them. See defenses like the Alekhine or the King's Indian where this is exactly what is done. This is still an undecided question, although current theory believes that occupying the center with pawns is a strength, not a weakness.
  
  
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