Answers.Body: <p>For your general chess education it's important to know the textbook example Tarrasch-Marco, Dresden 1892.</p>
  
  <pre><code>[FEN ""]
  [Date "1892.07.18"]
  [Result "1-0"]
  [White "Siegbert Tarrasch"]
  [Black "Georg Marco"]
  [StartPly "8"]
  
  1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.d4 Bd7 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.O-O Be7 7.Re1
  O-O (7... exd4)8.Bxc6 Bxc6 9.dxe5 dxe5 10.Qxd8 Raxd8 11.Nxe5 Bxe4 12.Nxe4
  Nxe4 13.Nd3 f5 14.f3 Bc5+ 15.Nxc5 Nxc5 16.Bg5 Rd5 17.Be7 Re8
  18.c4 1-0
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>White could have pushed the pawn <code>5. d5</code> with a small advantage, due to more space. Instead he kept the tension until black made a mistake with <code>7... 0-0?</code>, when the correct move for black was to surrender the center with <code>7... exd4</code>. After the mistake <code>7... 0-0?</code>, white started a series of exchanges on move <code>8</code> that eventually wins a pawn. The moral: Don't take on <code>e5</code> before it's actually good. Also notice how white's moves <code>5-7</code>support his center.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-05-19T16:28:33.997Z
Answers.Text: The Tarrasch Trap!
Answers.UserDisplayName: magd
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-05-19T16:07:13.223Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2015-05-19T16:07:13.223Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Dag Oskar Madsen
Answers.Body: <p>This is actually a stylistic situation: 
  <strong>Space lovers</strong> enjoy cramping the opponent and denying his pieces room to move freely. By advancing the central pawn, oftentimes a knight is deprived of its most natural development square and may have to compete with its companion Bishop for use of a square. In the French Defense, Advance Variation, for instance, the Black King's Knight and Bishop can find mutual need for the 'e7' square. 
  <strong>Tactical Players</strong> like keeping the tension by prolonging the attacking central formation which requires defense by the opponent. 
  <strong>Simplification addicts</strong> may play for central exchanges hoping to keep strategy and tactics under control while they look for gradual improvement of their 
  overall position and prospects over time. 
  As previously pointed out by others here, there is no one <strong>right</strong> answer to the question. </p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-05-21T13:53:39.683Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2015-05-21T13:53:39.683Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: KnightStar
Answers.Body: <p>The best position is usually two pawns on the same row. Once you push one of them, you create a hole that may be exploited. For example the hole can be used as an outpost for a Knight or a Bishop can block the pawns from moving forward. Like everything else, it depends on the position.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-05-25T01:50:00.023Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2015-05-25T01:50:00.023Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: JG Estiot
Answers.Body: <p>There are basically three possibilities:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li><p>Keeping the tension is often the best one: If your opponent resolves the tension by taking your pawn you can retake and centralise a piece and your remaining pawn often gives you a space advantage. </p></li>
  <li><p>Taking is usually the least attractive option, but it can be good, if you are the first (or only one) to take advantage of vulnerable squares. So you might take on e5 if you can bring a knight to d5, possibly because the black c-pawn is already on c5, whereas your c-pawn can still control d4. </p></li>
  <li><p>Pushing the pawn gives you a space advantage, but there is a big difference on which side of the board you get this space advantage! Pushing e5 gives you a space advantage on the king side. This can lead to an (piece-) attack against the king and is therefore a generally attractive option. It is not by random chance that against the French and against the Caro-Kann the e-pawn is often pushed to e5.
  Pushing d5 gives you an advantage on the queenside and this is only attractive if you can follow it up with play on this side of the board. Therefore it is generally more often played if you already have a pawn on c4, which is ready to be pushed to c5. If you need too much time to get your queenside play going, there will be the counter lever f5, which gives black play on the kingside. </p></li>
  </ul>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-05-19T14:54:38.867Z
Answers.Text: Keeping the tension, if he takes i can centralise a piece but he can also centralize one in the square of the pawn that resolve the tension. So that's why I don't like keeping the tension, because he relese the position fast I think. Wouldn't be better to take the space advantage by pushing?
Answers.UserDisplayName: Ghita Tomoiaga
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-05-20T08:25:44.033Z
Answers.Text: But the difference is that you can usually still control the square of the pawn that released the tension with one of your pawns. For example by playing f4 at one moment.
Answers.UserDisplayName: BlindKungFuMaster
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-05-20T09:25:19.110Z
Answers.Text: Yes, you right!
Answers.UserDisplayName: Ghita Tomoiaga
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-05-19T14:46:31.960Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2015-05-19T14:46:31.960Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: BlindKungFuMaster
Body: <p>Lets consider you have <code>e4 d4</code> pawns with white or <code>e5,d5</code> with black. When your opponent challenge your center with e5 or d5 with black, or with e4 or d4 with white of course his pawns are protected. How do you know if you have to push your pawn or simply capture the challenger pawn?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2015-05-19T09:56:50.123Z
Comments.Text: There's a third alternative which is often the best: keep the tension by supporting your own pawns (do not advance or capture). This keeps your options open and makes it much harder to defend.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Dag Oskar Madsen
Tags: <theory><strategy><pawn-structure>
Title: When to push centrals pawns?
ThreadText: # When to push centrals pawns?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2015-05-19)
  
  Lets consider you have `e4 d4` pawns with white or `e5,d5` with black. When your opponent challenge your center with e5 or d5 with black, or with e4 or d4 with white of course his pawns are protected. How do you know if you have to push your pawn or simply capture the challenger pawn?
  
  **Tags:** theory, strategy, pawn-structure
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: There's a third alternative which is often the best: keep the tension by supporting your own pawns (do not advance or capture). This keeps your options open and makes it much harder to defend.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 4 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_5 on 2015-05-19. Score: 5 | Accepted answer
  
  There are basically three possibilities:
  
  * Keeping the tension is often the best one: If your opponent resolves the tension by taking your pawn you can retake and centralise a piece and your remaining pawn often gives you a space advantage.
  * Taking is usually the least attractive option, but it can be good, if you are the first (or only one) to take advantage of vulnerable squares. So you might take on e5 if you can bring a knight to d5, possibly because the black c-pawn is already on c5, whereas your c-pawn can still control d4.
  * Pushing the pawn gives you a space advantage, but there is a big difference on which side of the board you get this space advantage! Pushing e5 gives you a space advantage on the king side. This can lead to an (piece-) attack against the king and is therefore a generally attractive option. It is not by random chance that against the French and against the Caro-Kann the e-pawn is often pushed to e5.
    Pushing d5 gives you an advantage on the queenside and this is only attractive if you can follow it up with play on this side of the board. Therefore it is generally more often played if you already have a pawn on c4, which is ready to be pushed to c5. If you need too much time to get your queenside play going, there will be the counter lever f5, which gives black play on the kingside.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: Keeping the tension, if he takes i can centralise a piece but he can also centralize one in the square of the pawn that resolve the tension. So that's why I don't like keeping the tension, because he relese the position fast I think. Wouldn't be better to take the space advantage by pushing?  
  > **username_5**: But the difference is that you can usually still control the square of the pawn that released the tension with one of your pawns. For example by playing f4 at one moment.  
  > **username_0**: Yes, you right!  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2015-05-19. Score: 5
  
  For your general chess education it's important to know the textbook example Tarrasch-Marco, Dresden 1892.
  
  ```
  [FEN ""]
  [Date "1892.07.18"]
  [Result "1-0"]
  [White "Siegbert Tarrasch"]
  [Black "Georg Marco"]
  [StartPly "8"]
  
  1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.d4 Bd7 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.O-O Be7 7.Re1
  O-O (7... exd4)8.Bxc6 Bxc6 9.dxe5 dxe5 10.Qxd8 Raxd8 11.Nxe5 Bxe4 12.Nxe4
  Nxe4 13.Nd3 f5 14.f3 Bc5+ 15.Nxc5 Nxc5 16.Bg5 Rd5 17.Be7 Re8
  18.c4 1-0
  
  ```
  
  White could have pushed the pawn `5. d5` with a small advantage, due to more space. Instead he kept the tension until black made a mistake with `7... 0-0?`, when the correct move for black was to surrender the center with `7... exd4`. After the mistake `7... 0-0?`, white started a series of exchanges on move `8` that eventually wins a pawn. The moral: Don't take on `e5` before it's actually good. Also notice how white's moves `5-7`support his center.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_2**: The Tarrasch Trap!  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2015-05-21. Score: 0
  
  This is actually a stylistic situation:
  **Space lovers** enjoy cramping the opponent and denying his pieces room to move freely. By advancing the central pawn, oftentimes a knight is deprived of its most natural development square and may have to compete with its companion Bishop for use of a square. In the French Defense, Advance Variation, for instance, the Black King's Knight and Bishop can find mutual need for the 'e7' square.
  **Tactical Players** like keeping the tension by prolonging the attacking central formation which requires defense by the opponent.
  **Simplification addicts** may play for central exchanges hoping to keep strategy and tactics under control while they look for gradual improvement of their
  overall position and prospects over time.
  As previously pointed out by others here, there is no one **right** answer to the question.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_4 on 2015-05-25. Score: 0
  
  The best position is usually two pawns on the same row. Once you push one of them, you create a hole that may be exploited. For example the hole can be used as an outpost for a Knight or a Bishop can block the pawns from moving forward. Like everything else, it depends on the position.
  
  
  ---
  
  