Doubled Pawns:
Part of the Advanced Beginner's Chess Guide (Section 1) and the
Chess Strategies Guide (Section 2: Studying the Pawns)

Doubled Pawns

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• Point Count Chess: Doubled Pawns [-];

Two friendly Pawns that end up on the same file, due to one having captured enemy material, as in Diagram 1, below ... A Doubled Pawn formation is considered weak, since it deprives both Pawns from working together; the Pawn at the front often holds-up the rearward Pawn, which typically becomes extremely vulnerable to capture. Once one of the Pawns goes, the other is often swiftly, and easily, dispatched.

Not all Doubled Pawn situations are considered Weak. In Diagram 2, below, White's Doubled Pawns, also on the c-file, serve to strengthen White's position in the Center. But, at all other times, Doubled Pawns are weak and so minus one point from the offending army's tally. So, the key here is to assess the "quality" of the Doubled Pawn structure.

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