In
chess, the pawn structure (sometimes known as the pawn skeleton) is the configuration of
pawns on the
chessboard. Pawns being the least mobile of the chess pieces, the pawn structure is relatively static, and largely determines the strategic nature of the position.
Philidor was the first chess player to recognize the importance of pawn structure. Before him, pawns were considered a hindrance to the development of the pieces, to be freely sacrificed for as little as a
tempo.
See more at Wikipedia.org...