"Pawn Book Championship"- Which chess books about pawn play are the most instructive?

Overview

On Perpetual Chess, host Ben Johnson and adult improver Neal Bruce compare six books on pawn play and pawn structures. Bruce spent six months reading them and playing through roughly 530 annotated games. His main takeaway was that studying pawns helped him find middlegame plans and understand how pawn structures shape piece activity and positional decisions.

What Pawn Study Improved

Bruce highlighted four ways pawn study affected his games:

• Better coordination: He became more aware of how a pawn move can make room for a piece to reach a better square.
• More willingness to sacrifice pawns: Giving up a pawn can sometimes open lines or create activity for rooks and bishops.
• Better use of space: He learned to take advantage of the room available for his pieces when an opponent gives him space.
• Greater respect for passed pawns: Connected passed pawns advancing toward the fourth through sixth ranks can sometimes be worth a piece.

More broadly, pawn structures can reveal weak and strong squares, suggest whether to play on the kingside, queenside, or in the center, and explain the plans behind many openings.

Bruce recommends building a foundation in tactics and general strategy before tackling books devoted to pawn structures. Any rating suggestions should be treated as rough guides, not hard requirements.

Book Rankings and Recommendations

Listed from lowest-rated to highest-rated in Bruce’s ranking:

1. Pawn Power in Chess — Hans Kmoch Bruce and Johnson found its terminology, prose, and dated presentation difficult to work through. They suggest skipping it for practical improvement.

2. Pawn Structure Chess — Andy Soltis A useful collection of complete games and fragments, though its annotations can be sparse. Bruce recommends the newer edition using algebraic notation.

3. Small Steps to Giant Improvement — Sam Shankland Covers individual pawn decisions, such as when to advance a pawn or encourage an opponent’s pawn moves. It is more advanced than the two leading recommendations and is best approached after gaining some grounding in pawn structures.

4. Small Steps 2 Success — Sam Shankland Focuses specifically on passed pawns. Bruce praised its ideas but noted its narrow subject and challenging material, especially the exercises. It may be most useful to stronger players and as a book to revisit.

5. The Power of Pawns — Jörg Hickl Bruce’s preferred starting point: clear, concise, accessible, and focused on core pawn-structure ideas. He recommends it as the best single pawn book for players below roughly 2000 USCF.

6. Chess Structures: A Grandmaster Guide — Mauricio Flores Ríos The overall winner. It organizes typical structures into families, explains plans for both sides, and includes model games and exercises. Bruce considers it an excellent, deeper follow-up to Hickl’s book and his choice for a single book to keep.

Suggested Study Path

• Below roughly 2000 USCF: Start with The Power of Pawns. If you read a second book, continue with Chess Structures.
• Above roughly 2000 USCF: Start with Chess Structures, then read Shankland’s two Small Steps books. Pawn Structure Chess can provide additional study, but Bruce considers it optional.
• At any level: Study actively. Set up the games, work through the moves, make your own observations, and compare them with the author’s notes rather than reading passively.

Featured People and Sources

• Podcast: Perpetual Chess
• Host: Ben Johnson
• Guest: Neal Bruce
• Books and authors: Pawn Power in Chess by Hans Kmoch; Pawn Structure Chess by Andy Soltis; Small Steps to Giant Improvement and Small Steps 2 Success by Sam Shankland; The Power of Pawns by Jörg Hickl; and Chess Structures: A Grandmaster Guide by Mauricio Flores Ríos.
• Other chess figures mentioned: Vladimir Kramnik, Axel Bachmann, Magnus Carlsen, and Stephen Sparks.