The rule is that isolated passed pawns are weak only if they can be successfully blockaded. A passed isolani can serve as a deflecting force, taking pieces away from the defence of the king in many positions. So long as the pawn can be defended  without allowing one's opponent counterplay it will always act as a potent threat, and the presence of a threat is often worse than the execution.

black can b at strong in the middle but he lost the chance

Exciting finish!

Nice! A very instuctive game for an intermediate player like me.More Power!

This game looks very plain as if played between two average club players.  However, it's a good game for teaching basic chess principles to novices.

Hi Dauntless07,

There is a big difference between a pinned piece and a trapped piece.

A pin involves 3 elements:   1. The pinning piece

                                         2. The pinned piece or pawn

                                         3. The piece, pawn, or square behind the pinned

                                            piece or pawn

A trapped piece has no square to move to where it will be directly or indirectly defended against capture on the enemy side's move.

A trapped piece or pawn involves two elements:  1. The trapping piece or pawn

                                                                        2. The trapped piece or pawn

Hopes this helps.

you know..it's reallly   good

nice

who playes this ? never mind it is two gms dumb question

To answer the question of where the bias against against isolated pawns come from I would only say that while the 'isolani' can be a plus in the middlegame , it is certainly a minus in the endgame of the average player . If you accept such a pawn you must be ready to play a very energetic middlegame . I have often seen my opponents gain space and energy with isolated d pawns only to drift to a won endgame for Black . OTOH , I have played White with isolated center pawns leading to crushing attacks (and have also gone down in flames) . It is a fun game , no?

Wow, I never thought of move 40. That was was the first time I've seen a piece pinned when it wasn't being attacked.

  I must agree with n213978745 - such comments are really great and helpful, each move commented even the beginning e4 :-)

 Thanks a lot for those creating these comments.

I love the comment of this game, helps me a lot!  Thanks to those who spend time to put comment on the game.

because if 29. ..Bxd6 30. Nb5 (as it goes) and the bishop (or the rook) is lost except because 30. ...Bxg3! is good due to the inminent mate with Rc8-c1 (it white takes d7 . I think that black probably (surely) missed this chance

Why didn't black take the pawn with its bishop after 29.Nd4 ?

An isolated pawn is generally bad. ... an isolated passed pawn requires a long think :P.

Good game, well played, and fyi... the first 12 or more moves appear to be book ... I've seen that line on many occasion and played it myself a few times (including that "radical" 10. ... b5).

An isolated pawn is a weakness and the closer we approach the endgame the more of a weakness it is. Some openings deliberately choose to take on an isolated pawn but with compensation; more active pieces etc. Some openings take on doubled pawns but again with compensation (perhaps retaining two bishops against bishop and Knight). These pawn weaknesses are definately problematic and if an endgame is reached they could be decisive. However, in a chess game you can't expect to proceed in an ideal fashion; your opponent intends to thwart all your plans and leave your pieces ineffective. In a choice between an isolated pawn and badly placed passive pieces, the isolated pawn is the lesser of two evils.

So 1.bxa7 is bad in the foll because it gives one two isolani?? And doubled, to boot??

Is there such a myth? ALWAYS weak?? Most uninteresting myth, not to say false. Ditto for doubled pawns.

The annotated game is a decent one, but this is a case of an obviously strong isolano. Even I, at *that* stage, would go for it... [of course calculation dear, calculation enters into the picture also... but at corrspondence where I can move pieces around on multiple plysical boards - it is what USans call a no-brainer - the decision to enter endgame with THAT isolano.]

OTB fide game? I wont even be allowed because I need beta-blockers[1] for my hypertension - and now fide does dope-testing! [There is a recent Bill Wall article on the topic (on this site)] - beta-blockers are on the banned list!

[1] beta-1 adrenalin receptor antagionists eg propranolol, atenolol, ...

this is typical case of the isolated queen pawn IQP or sometimes caled the ISOLANI , its an advantage if known how to use , read Alexander Baburin "winning pawn structures" , i think also Watson mentioned the pros and cons of the isolated pawns in his mastering chess openings  book (1) , but it should be noted that its the queen's pawn that was extensively studied since it appears in many QG games, if its in another rank its a different story , it should be case by case analysis