Connected-pawns annotation symbol

Two pawns are connected when they belong to the same side and stand on adjacent files. If one is a rank ahead of the other, the rear pawn can protect the advanced pawn diagonally; when they advance together, they can also hold space and control nearby squares.

⯺ is the specialized character in Unicode, the standard that assigns common codes to digital characters, called the united-pawns sign. ⚮ is an older graphical form used by some applications. Both let an annotator mark the structural relationship without repeating a long explanation in the symbol system.

The Scid vs. PC list includes $193 as a suggested value for connected pawns. It is a Numeric Annotation Glyph (NAG) beyond the meanings assigned by the original Portable Game Notation (PGN) specification, the text format for storing games. A file may therefore retain $193 while another program fails to show the same glyph. The sign also does not claim that the pawns are always strong: they may be blocked, targeted, or in need of piece support.