Pawn/non-pawn

In his book Football and Chess, Adam Wells outlines the similarities between the two sports. For WCC, one of the crucial aspects of chess is the pawn/non-pawn ratio. Pawns have the least scope for movement of all the pieces, being limited mostly to moving one space forward at a time. However, they are still vital pieces and their use must be balanced with the use of other pieces which have more range of movement. There are eight pawns in a chess player’s starting line-up and eight other pieces (comprised of rooks, knights, bishops, queen and king): this is a ratio of 1:1.

Pawn ratio under Capello

Any collective human activity requires a balance of skills across the team. Creative performers must be provided with a context in which they can express their skills. This requires some team members to be more constrained and diligent, so that a secure platform can be provided for those blessed with more eye-catching abilities. If a team is full of superstars then there will be an imbalance of dispositions. Taking chess as an example, it seems as though 50% of players in a football team should be considered pawns. This provides a sound structure which can reconcile stability with creativity.

Fabio Capello has adjusted the England line-up so that the pawn/non-pawn balance is at a more appropriate state than under his predecessors [see left]. Capello fields a central core of pawns, which provides a solid team structure. In addition to the centre-backs (pawns), he also fields two central midfielders (Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard) who take up constrained roles. The centre-forward also performs the role of pawn in providing the toil and bustle which allows the advanced midfielders to find space. With this central outfield trunk of five doing the legwork as pawns, the other players have the capacity to fulfil rangier roles. Full-backs Ashley Cole and Glenn Johnson are galloping rooks; Steven Gerrard drifting in from left-midfield is a knight; whilst right-midfield is usually taken by another rook such as Theo Walcott or Aaron Lennon. In support of the centre-forward, Wayne Rooney is the attacking talisman and has the full positional scope of queen.

Pawn ratio under Erikkson

This compares favourably to England teams of recent years. For example under Sven Goran Eriksson, his favoured team was closer to a 1:5 ratio of pawn to non-pawn. His first-choice 4-4-2 circa 2006 included two genuine pawns, centre-backs Rio Ferdinand and John Terry. However, there was no clear pawn-role for either of the central midfield pairing of Gerrard and Lampard: both had hybrid rook/pawn roles (with the emphasis on the former) as neither player had clear defensive midfield duties. At centre forward, Michael Owen took up the mantle of king with his goal-poaching predilections, with Rooney the queen in attendance. On the flanks Joe Cole was a knight on the left, whilst David Beckham’s passing range meant he was the right-sided bishop. Without sufficient pawns, the team structure could not facilitate the expression of such a proliferation of skills. The outcome was rooks, bishops and knights uncertainly shuffling around the pitch as they were neutralized into stasis by an over-abundance of freedom.

With Capello recognizing the importance of diligence and stability, he fields a team which matches the pawn/non-pawn ratio seen in chess. This is why England can expect a better showing at World Cup 2010 compared with recent tournaments.