Doubled pawns are two pawns of the same colour on the same file. They cannot defend each other, and the front pawn blocks the one behind it.
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Doubled pawns cover fewer squares than two pawns side by side, and in an endgame they make a passed pawn harder to create. In return, the capture that doubled them often opens a file or adds a pawn to the centre.
How to do it
- 1Before allowing doubled pawns, ask what you get: an open file, more centre, or the bishop pair.
- 2With doubled pawns, use the file the capture opened.
- 3Against them, trade pieces and attack the pawns in the endgame.
For your level
Two pawns on one line are doubled. They cannot protect each other. It is a small problem.
Check you have it
Question 1 of 1
Which white pawn has no friendly pawn on either neighbouring file?
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Common mistakes
- Avoiding doubled pawns at the cost of development or the bishop pair.
- Treating doubled pawns as weak when no enemy piece can attack them.
Questions
- Are doubled pawns bad?
- Not always. They are usually a weakness in an endgame, but in the middlegame the file they open and the central squares they cover can be worth more.