ChessA pawn that reaches the last rank promotes to a queen, so every pawn is a future queen. The trouble is that enemy pawns usually block the way. If a pawn has no enemy pawn in front of it and no enemy pawn beside it that could capture it, it's a passed pawn. The further it runs, the more dangerous it gets, and it often forces your opponent to tie down a whole piece just to watch it. To push one for real, play chess online.
What is a passed pawn?
To count as passed, a pawn needs both of these:
- No enemy pawn in front: on its own file, all the way to the end, there's no enemy pawn.
- No enemy pawn on the files beside it: on the two neighboring files, no enemy pawn ahead of it could capture it.
Passed pawns must be pushed
There's an old saying: "passed pawns must be pushed." Every step forward makes your opponent more nervous:
- Once it reaches the sixth or seventh rank, your opponent often has to park a whole piece in front of it, so they're effectively a piece short.
- You can use it to pull enemy pieces away and then attack on the other side. You'll see this a lot with deflection.
- In the endgame, a far-advanced passed pawn can be worth more than a minor piece.
Push with care, though: make sure your pieces support the squares in front of it, so it doesn't run ahead alone and get eaten by the enemy king.
Protected and outside passed pawns
- Protected passed pawn: one of your own pawns guards it diagonally from behind. The enemy king can't simply take it. This is the strongest kind.
- Outside passed pawn: a passed pawn far from the main group of pawns, for example on the a-file. In the endgame, if the enemy king goes chasing it, it can't look after the pawns on the other side.
Whether a king can catch a passed pawn, you can work out at a glance with the rule of the square.
How to stop a passed pawn: the blockade
The defender's best answer is to put a piece right in front of the passed pawn so it can't move. That's called a "blockade".
The best blockader is a knight: it can still jump out and attack other things from in front of the pawn, so it doesn't become a dead piece. Blocking with a queen or rook is a waste.
Puzzle: create a passed pawn with a breakthrough
Sometimes both sides have the same number of pawns, all blocking each other, and you can still force a passed pawn through by giving up pawns. That's a "breakthrough":
Show answer
1. b6 Push the pawn to b6! If Black takes with the c-pawn, White pushes a6; Black takes again with the b-pawn and White's c-pawn is now passed. If Black takes with the a-pawn, White pushes c6; after Black takes, White's a-pawn has a clear road. If Black doesn't take, White captures on a7 or c7 with the b-pawn. The black king is too far away to come back in time.
FAQ
What's the difference between a passed pawn and an isolated pawn?
A passed pawn is about enemy pawns: none in front of it or beside it to stop it. An isolated pawn is about your own pawns: none on either side to protect it. A pawn can be passed and isolated at the same time.
Is a passed pawn always an advantage?
Most of the time, especially in the endgame. But if it's firmly blockaded and your pieces can't support it, it can turn into a burden you have to keep defending.
Should I rush my passed pawn forward in the middlegame?
It depends. With lots of pieces still on the board, pushing too fast can get it captured. Usually you protect it first, line your pieces up behind it, and push once most of the pieces are traded. That's when it hits hardest.
Try it yourself
Play chess against the computer and try to create a passed pawn in the endgame, then push it all the way to promotion. For the other ideas about pawns, go back to pawn structure.