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The Hedgehog is a pawn formation in chess adopted usually by Black that can arise from several chess opening. Black exchanges the pawn on c5 for White's pawn on d4, and then places pawns on the squares a6, b6, d6, and e6. These pawns form a row of "spines" behind which Black their forces. Typically, the bishops are placed on b7 and e7, knights on d7 and f6, queen on c7, and rooks on c8 and e8 (or c8 and d8). Although Black's position is cramped, it has great latent energy, which may be released if Black is able to play ...b5 or ...d5 at some point. These pawn breaks are particularly effective because White usually places pawns on c4 and e4 (the Maróczy Bind).
Traditional chess strategy would have frowned upon Black's setup, since their pieces have little room in which to manoeuvre. In the early 1970s, hedgehog' was a generic term for any setup that was cramped, defensive and difficult to attack", but today refers specifically to this formation. The Hedgehog first became extensively analysed in the 1970s, when players began to appreciate the rich variety of strategic ideas that arose from it. While Black's position is cramped, it is also relatively free of weaknesses. There is no obvious way for White to attack Black's pawn structure, but as outlined above, Black has several methods at their disposal for creating . Thus the Hedgehog has retained its popularity as a system of development in modern praxis.
It is also possible for White to adopt a Hedgehog setup, but this happens more rarely. This did occur, however, in Fischer–Andersson, Siegen 1970, one of the first games to feature this method of development. Bobby Fischer crushing victory in this game, in which the Kh1/Rg1/g4 method of attack was vividly demonstrated, so impressed Ulf Andersson that he later became one of the foremost Hedgehog exponents himself, for example Karpov–Andersson, Milan 1975.
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