Pawns

Pawns are the least valuable pieces in chess, but fundamental to successful strategy because there are so many of them (8 per side).

A few tips on pawn strategy:

• pawns in the center of the board are more valuable in the middle game than in the endgame
• pawns are the only pieces that cannot move backwards, so it can be a mistake to get overextended in advancing them.
• if behind by a minor piece then consider trading pawns because no one can checkmate with only a minor piece and a king

See also

• Chess tips