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A very important point in Pawns. In FIDE chess the Pawn skeleton is a key
strategic element. Pawns on adjacent files protect each other. The idea
'Pawns are the soul of chess' certainly applies more for FIDE chess than
for Xiang Qi. Piece strategy in the middle game and in the endgame are much
related to Pawn structure. The Pawn structure defines your playing space in
the middle game. If you want to penetrate through the opponent's Pawn
fortification (with brute force), you have to sacrifice at least a piece
with thrice the value of the Pawn (Knight or Bishop). In Xiang Qi, a Pawn
isn't worth much less than an Elephant (at least when the Pawn moved
twice, getting it across the river). In the endgame, Pawn promotion is a
much bigger issue in FIDE chess. With little material the mobile FIDE King
isn't easily checkmated. The idea of the endgame is to use the King as an
attacker and the goal is to get a Pawn across the board. In Xiang Qi, the
goal of the endgame is still to attack the King, not to eliminate Pawns
with the King.