Isolated pawns can, however, provide improved development and associated opportunities for counterplay that offset or even outweigh their weaknesses.
The files adjacent to the isolated pawn are either open or half-open, providing two lanes of attack for the rooks and the queen.
Also, an enemy piece on this square cannot be attacked by rooks, except from the sides or rear, since the file it is on is blocked by the isolated pawn.
Its weakness arises from two factors: The presence of open or half-open king (e-) and queen's bishop (c-) files, however, as well as the outposts (for White) at e5 and c5, enable the player with the IQP favourable attacking chances in the middlegame.
Making use of this arrangement of pieces White may plan to either advance thematically with d4–d5 opening the position and dissolving the IQP, or use the greater activity of his pieces to launch an attack probably making use of the e5-square for a knight and possibly lifting a rook to the kingside.
The advance d4–d5 or a tactic forcing Black to capture a piece on e5 and then recapturing with the d4-pawn would be typical ways of achieving this.
Black may decide to blockade the pawn on d4 with a piece (most likely a knight) or prevent its advance long enough to increase pressure on it until it falls.