Outpost
An outpost is an advanced square, usually in the opponent's half of the board, that is protected by one of your own pawns and cannot be attacked by an enemy pawn.
An outpost is a square deep in enemy territory where a piece can sit without being chased away by pawns. Two conditions define it: one of your own pawns guards the square, and no enemy pawn can ever attack it. Because pawns are the pieces most likely to drive a minor piece off, a square that is safe from them is a lasting home.
Knights love outposts. A knight on the fifth or sixth rank, backed by a pawn, controls squares in the enemy camp, eyes weak pawns and key entry points, and cannot be exchanged except by a bishop or another knight at a price. Bishops can also use them, though they are less dependent on such squares.
To create an outpost, look at which pawns your opponent has already pushed or traded. Once the neighboring pawns on adjacent files are gone or have advanced past the square, it becomes available. Then bring a piece there and support it with a pawn.
To fight against an outpost, keep the pawns on the adjacent files at home so they can guard the square, or be ready to trade the occupying piece with one of your own minor pieces.
Before settling a piece, check that no enemy pawn can still advance to hit the square later; a square that only looks advanced is not yet an outpost.
Also worth reading is Isolated queen's pawn structure. A structure in which one side has a pawn on d4 (or d5) with no friendly pawns on the c- or e-files, giving active pieces and attacking chances but a long-term weakness in endgames.
Also worth reading is Najdorf structure. The Sicilian Najdorf pawn setup after ...a6 and ...e5, with Black pawns on a6, d6 and e5 against White's e4, which gives Black a firm grip on d4 but leaves a hole on d5 and a backward d6 pawn.
A neighboring idea is Overprotection. Overprotection is the practice of guarding an important pawn, square or piece more times than the opponent's threats demand, so the point is rock solid and the guarding pieces can take useful posts around it.
Where "Outpost" fits your own play is easier to judge with a coach reading your games; the first lesson is a paid one-on-one review that ends in a written plan.
Related terms
A weak square, also called a hole, is a square that a player's own pawns can no longer guard, so an enemy piece can settle there without being challenged by a pawn.
The knight moves to one of the nearest squares that is not on its own rank, file or diagonal, an L-shaped jump, and it is the only piece that can leap over other pieces.
Knight versus bishop describes positions where one side has a knight and the other a bishop; the better piece depends on the pawn structure, favoring the bishop in open play and the knight in closed positions.
A pawn chain is a string of friendly pawns on a diagonal, each guarded by the pawn behind it, so only the rearmost pawn, the base, lacks pawn protection and becomes the usual target.
A backward pawn is a pawn that has fallen behind the pawns on neighboring files and cannot safely advance, because the square in front of it is controlled by an enemy pawn.
A pawn center is a group of one or more pawns, most often on d4 and e4 or d5 and e5, that occupies the central squares and takes space from the opponent.
Guides that go further
What to decide first, the questions to ask, what a first lesson should show and the red flags to avoid.
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