Video completed: Basic Pawn Structures in 60 Minutes by IM Andrew Martin

I recently completed what is the first on my "Back to Basics" list, a ChessBase video by IM Andrew Martin entitled "Basic Pawn Structures in 60 Minutes" - it would be hard to find a more fundmental aspect of chess than that. As Martin commonly does, he uses illustrative full master games as the basis for his explanations of key principles, while also providing some light commentary on the overall progress of the game as it goes along. 

I was pleasantly surprised by the not too basic approach taken in the commentary, starting with the trade-offs involved with doubled pawns. Essentially, piece activity and the potential to liquidate doubled pawns are the strategic keys for the player who has them, and conversely what the other player has to keep in mind when playing against them. The pair of illustrative games that Martin presents contain an example of where this does not work out for the player with the doubled pawns, in the case of an Exchange Ruy Lopez (Spanish), and then one in an interesting sideline of the Exchange Queen's Gambit Declined where the doubled pawns win. In the first, White's plan is all about first inflicting the doubled pawns - the whole point of the variation - and then heading as rapidly as possible for an endgame with an advantage, which Black simply allows to happen. In the second game, Black (Kramnik) deliberately provokes White in order to gain the two bishops and good piece activity in exchange for his doubled f-pawns.

The second pair of games from Martin looks at "weak" and "strong" isolated pawns, which can be a dynamic concept over the course of a game. The positional trade-offs are highlighted and, similarly to doubled pawns, there is a dynamic balance between enhanced piece activity and a structural pawn weakness. The side with the isolated pawn wants to avoid trade-offs, maximize piece activity, and use its mobility to advance and cramp the opponent. The other side aims for the reverse, to blockade the pawn and trade off pieces until it becomes a liability. The first illustrative game, with Anna Muzychuk as White, shows her playing boldly to aggressively defend against Black's activity in a Sicilian Four Knights, after which his isolated pawn weaknesses become fatal. The second game, with Boris Spassky as White, shows him masterfully winning a Queen's Gambit Accepted where he deliberately accepts an isolated pawn in the opening in exchange for an attacking position where the tactical threats outweigh his pawn structure deficiencies; he then dissolves the weakness by sacrificing the isolated pawn to good effect.

Following that, Martin uses individual games to review concepts with backward (an O'Kelly Sicilian where the pawn is "dissolved" early), hanging (White inflicts them on Black in a QGD, but Black handles it actively and well), blocked (a Czech Benoni, where the central blockage requires patience and a correctly-timed pawn lever from either side) and tripled pawns (which are just horrible). Overall, this is not an in-depth study of each pawn formation, but rather a swift and pointed treatment of core topics, which is the main idea behind the "60 Minutes" series of videos.

In terms of the product's editorial quality, while the audio and video are clear, Martin makes more than the usual number of minor verbal slips, for example confusing references to doubled vs. isolated pawns multiple times; however, his overall points are still understandable. These "verbal typos" are unfortunately a general characteristic of ChessBase video products, which always seem to be "one take, no edits" regardless of how many times a presenter has to correct themselves (or misses a needed correction) in even a short segment which could have been done in a retake. And with modern editing tools, this really should not be a major issue to deal with. The video was originally available on release as a free download, which is when I grabbed it, and for me it was worth the time for watching.