Transforming Pawn Structures: A Practical Training Course by GM Boris Avrukh
When Tigran Petrosian sacrificed the exchange on f6 to reshape the pawn structure in his favour, he wasn't merely defending — he was rewriting the rules of the position. What looked like a static feature of the board became, in his hands, something to be shaped and directed. This idea — that pawn structures are not given but made — sits at the heart of Transforming Pawn Structures: A Practical Training Course, the new database by GM Boris Avrukh.
A Different Way of Seeing the Board
Most players are taught to read a pawn structure and adapt to it: find the outpost, identify the bad bishop, choose the right side of the board. Avrukh proposes something more ambitious. The strongest grandmasters, he argues, don't merely respond to structures — they actively reshape them.
A timely exchange of a problematic piece, followed by a pawn push that fixes the opponent's weaknesses, can change the character of the position entirely. Suddenly the side of the board that mattered no longer does, and the piece that looked strong becomes redundant.
Structure of the Course
The database is organised into two complementary parts. The first focuses on the connection between piece exchanges and structural transformation — how weaknesses are provoked, how favourable exchanges are identified through the lens of the resulting pawn structure and the one that can arise, and how restricting an opponent's pieces sets the stage for reshaping the position.
The second part turns to committal pawn breaks: the critical pushes that permanently alter the structure and force both sides to recalibrate their plans. Throughout, the emphasis remains on the practical questions every player faces — when to open the position, when to close it, when to fix the structure, and when a pawn break creates favourable imbalances rather than long-term weaknesses.
The course includes:
- 10 deeply annotated games
- 27 instructive examples
- 212 test positions for active training
- Video instruction by GM Boris Avrukh
- Multilingual PGN availability (English, German, French, Spanish)
From Openings to Middlegame Strategy
GM Boris Avrukh is one of the most respected opening and strategy authors of the last two decades, known for the depth and clarity of his analytical work. With this course, he applies that same rigour not to a specific opening repertoire but to a universal skill — one that shapes the outcome of countless games at every level.
Readers who want to explore more of his work can also check out his most recent opening release on Modern Chess, Grivas Sicilian for Black — Top-Level Repertoire, a Sicilian repertoire for Black.
Start training today and begin treating pawn structures not as fixed diagrams, but as living elements you can control and exploit.
INTRODUCTION BY GM BORIS AVRUKH
Despite my regular publications on various platforms, I have never been as excited as I am now to present this training course on one of chess's most practical yet often overlooked skills: transforming pawn structures to gain an advantage.
Only recently have I come to the realization that this is the most common positional mistake committed by Grandmasters — imagine what is happening at lower levels! Strangely enough, this topic is not sufficiently covered in chess literature. Moreover, I am not aware of any serious material dedicated specifically to it.
The Discovery Behind This Course
When I started working on my main database, I was closely following the excellent Prague Masters event and using some nice examples from the tournament in my private lessons. At some point, I decided to check how many games were affected by mistakes related to pawn structure transformation.
It turned out that out of 45 games, 27 featured at least one significant error (and usually more than one) connected to this topic. That's more than 50%.
This is why I decided to create a separate database with the Prague Masters games.
The Core Idea
Pawn structures aren't just static features of a position. They are dynamic elements that determine which pieces become strong or weak, where your outposts appear, which side of the board you should play on, and whether your king is safe or exposed.
The best players don't just react to the structure in front of them — they actively reshape it to suit their pieces and plans.
In this course, you will see how elite grandmasters deliberately transform pawn structures through strategic decisions. Sometimes it starts with exchanging a problematic piece (for example, a bad light-squared bishop) and then pushing pawns to shift the character of the position — either to favor the remaining minor piece(s) or to restrict the opponent's.
Quite often, you will see a player exchange a piece first and only then transform the pawn structure in their favor. When pieces are exchanged, the battle takes on a completely different character. When the pawn structure changes, even the most important side of the board can shift entirely.
Course Structure
The database is organized into two complementary sections.
Part 1 — Piece Exchanges and Structural Transformation
- 10 deeply annotated games with 105 test positions
- Focuses on the connection between piece exchanges and structural transformation
- You will learn how to provoke weaknesses, identify favorable exchanges based on the resulting structure, and restrict the opponent's pieces both before and after the exchange in order to reshape the position in your favor
Part 2 — Committal Pawn Breaks
- 27 examples with 107 test positions
- Concentrates on those critical pawn pushes that permanently change the structure and force both sides to reconsider their plans and goals
- You will see when it makes sense to open or close the position, as well as cases where fixing the pawn structure is the most important decision
Essential Practical Questions
Throughout the course, you will explore the questions every strong player must answer:
- When should you close the position or open it up?
- When should you change the pawn structure?
- Which pawn breaks create favorable outcomes for you, and which ones lead to long-term weaknesses?
All the material comes from high-level grandmaster games, with the exception of one game by my student, an FM.
A Final Thought
I hope this course will help you see pawn structures not as fixed diagrams, but as living, transformable elements that you can control and exploit. I have no doubt that studying this course will significantly boost your positional understanding and raise your overall level.
Good luck with your training!
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