A severe weak square on the 3rd, 4th, or 5th rank that can never be attacked by an enemy pawn.
Why it matters
A hole is a weak square that sits in the middle of the board, on the third, fourth or fifth rank, where a piece standing on it is genuinely annoying rather than just safe.
They come from pawn moves that look natural. Playing both ...c5 and ...e5 grabs space and gives up d5 forever, and whether that trade is good depends entirely on whether the opponent can put a knight there and keep it.
See it on a board
Black's pawns on c5 and e5 have walked past d5. No black pawn can ever attack that square again, so the knight there is a permanent guest.
Checked: the position really has the feature described.
How to play it
- Look for two pawns of the same colour that have advanced past a square between them.
- Check whether any pawn can ever come back to challenge it. If not, that square is a hole.
- Fill it with a knight, and defend the knight so that trading it costs the opponent a good piece.
At each level
The same idea, said the way it is taught at each age.
Rook · ages 6–9
Two pawns advanced past the square between them make a hole. It is one of the few weaknesses that cannot be repaired at all.
Queen · ages 8–11
A hole is only worth the piece you can put in it. Before creating one in your own camp, ask whether the opponent has a knight that can reach it in under three moves.
What goes wrong
- Treating every hole as decisive. If the opponent cannot occupy it, the space the pawns won may be worth more.
- Making the hole and then allowing the occupying knight to be traded off by a bishop.
Questions people ask
- What is the difference between a hole and a weak square?
- A hole is a weak square in territory that matters — the third to fifth ranks — where an enemy piece can actually sit. Every hole is a weak square; most weak squares are not holes.