[blind-chess] Chess Article #67: The Passed Pawn
- From: Roderick Macdonald <rmacd@xxxxxxxx>
- To: Blind Chess Mailing List <blind-chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2010 21:13:58 -1000 (HST)
Chess Article #67:
The Passed pawn
Adapted and Condensed from
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Diagram #1:
White: Pawns at b5, c4, e5, f4, g4, h5
Black: Pawns at d4, f5, h6
White's pawns on b5, c4, and e5 are passed pawns. Black's pawn on
d4 is passed.
In chess, a passed pawn is a pawn with no opposing pawns to prevent
it from advancing to the eighth rank, i.e. there are no opposing
pawns in front of it on the same file nor on an adjacent file. A
passed pawn is sometimes colloquially called a passer. Passed pawns
can be an advantage because only the opponent's pieces can prevent
them from promoting.
In diagram #1 above, the white pawns on b5, c4, and e5 are passed
pawns. Black's pawn on d4 is a passed pawn. If Black plays fxg4,
then Black will also have a passed pawn on g4, and White will have
a passed pawn on f4.
++1. Protected passed pawn
Diagram #2:
White: King at g1, Queen at e5, Pawns at c3, d4, e6, g2, h2
Black: King at g7, Queen at e7, Pawns at a7, b6, c4, d5, g6, h7
Mikhail Botvinnik-Jose Raul Capablanca 1938
A passed pawn that is protected by its own pawns is called a
protected passed pawn. In diagram #1 in this article, the pawns on
the b and e files are protected passed pawns. Two or more passed
pawns on adjacent files are called connected passed pawns, and they
are very strong. In both diagrams #1 and #2, White's b and c pawns
are connected passed pawns. A pair of connected passed pawns is
sometimes called a steamroller. It is often strategically
advantageous for the side with connected passed pawns to place them
on the same rank and then advance them in tandem, because this
makes them more difficult to blockade.
Sometimes, minor pieces are sacrificed so that a pawn can have a
clear path to promotion on the eighth rank. For example, in order
to capitalize on the passed pawn on e6, White continues
30. Ba3 Qxa3
31. Nh5+ gxh5
32. Qg5+ Kf8
33. Qxf6+
guaranteeing the e-pawn's promotion. The passed pawn's value is
well worth the sacrifice of both the knight and bishop because it
clears the path of the black queen and knight. The only pieces
preventing the e-pawn's promotion are the black queen and knight,
and once they are gone, the e-pawn has a free path to promotion
because Black's pawns are helpless to stop it. Had there been a
black pawn on the seventh rank that challenges the advancement of
the e-pawn, it could have stopped the progress of the white pawn.
++2. Outside passed pawn
diagram 33:
White: King at c3, Pawns at a4, g3, h2
Black: King at e7, Pawns at f7, g6, h5
Fischer-Larsen 1971
White to move, wins because of the outside passed pawn
An outside passed pawn is a passed pawn that is on or near the left
or right edge of the board, and is separated by a number of files
from the rest of the pawns. Such a pawn often constitutes a strong
advantage for its owner because the opposing king does not have the
range to cover both sides of the board.
In the position shown in diagram #3 from the fifth game of the 1971
Candidates match between Bobby Fischer and Bent Larsen, the outside
passed pawn on the a-file confers White a winning advantage, even
though material is equal. The pawn will force Black's king to keep
it from queening, leaving White's king free to capture Black's
remaining pawns and win the game. White wins with
41. Kd4 Kd6
42. a5 f6
43. a6 Kc6
44. a7 Kb7
45. Kd5 h4
(if 45. ... f5 46. h4 wins)
46. Ke6 1-0
(M`uller & Pajeken 2008:39-40).
Diagram #4:
White: King at f2, rook at a8, Pawns at a6, f4, g3, h4
Black: King at g7, Rook at a3, Pawns at f5, g6, h5
Levenfish and Smyslov, 1957
White to play, draw
An outside passed pawn is also powerful in an endgame with minor
pieces. It isn't so powerful an an endgame with rooks if the
opposing rook can get behind the pawn (diagram #4), as in the
Tarrasch rule (M`uller & Pajeken 2008:40-41), (Levenfish & Smyslov
1971:157).
++3. Passed pawns in the endgame
Diagram #5:
White: King at g1, Pawns at f5, g5, h5
Black: King at g3, Pawns at f7, g7, h7
White, on move, creates a passed pawn and wins.
Diagram #6:
White: King at e1, Queen at b3, Knight at g2, Pawns at b6, c6,
f6, h6
Black: King at a1, Rook at d5, Bishop at g6, Pawns at a2, h3
Four examples of advanced passed pawns.
Four examples of advanced passed pawns.
Passed pawns are particularly important, often of decisive
significance, in the endgame. The position in Diagram #5 provides
a dramatic example of this. White has no passed pawns and seems to
be in desperate straits, since Black's king will soon attack
White's pawns with ... Kg4. In fact, White by means of a
sacrificial combination creates a passed pawn and wins:
1. g6! fxg6
(or 1. ... hxg6 2. f6! gxf6 3. h6!)
2. h6! gxh6
3. f6!
and White's newly created passed pawn will queen. If it is Black's
move, he must avoid this combination by playing 1. ... g6! (not 1.
... f6 2. h6!, nor 1. ... h6 2. f6!).
Since passed pawns have no opposing pawns to stop them, the threat
of queening often forces the opponent to use a piece to block or
capture the pawn, wasting valuable time and possibly losing
material. Indeed, a far-advanced passed pawn or pawns is often
equal to or even superior to a piece. Four examples of this are
seen in diagram #6. In the upper-left quadrant of the board,
White's connected passed pawns on the sixth rank are superior to
Black's rook. Even if on move, Black cannot stop one of White's
pawns from queening. Similarly, in the upper-right quadrant,
Black's bishop cannot hold back both of White's pawns. White queens
a pawn after
1. f7
(1. h7 also works)
1. ... Bxf7
2. h7
followed by 3. h8(Q). In the lower-left quadrant, White's queen
cannot stop Black's pawn from queening without stalemating Black.
The lower-right quadrant highlights how awkward a knight is in
dealing with a passed pawn, especially a rook pawn. White's knight
is actually worse than useless in trying to stop Black's pawn. It
cannot do so itself, and if White's king (which could catch the
pawn if the knight were not there) approaches with
1. Kf2
(hoping for 1. ... hxg2? 2. Kxg2), Black plays 1. ... h2! and 2.
... h1(Q).
Diagram #7:
White: King at a6, Pawns at b6, c7
Black: King at a8, Queen at g5, Bishop at a7, Knight at e1
Position after 9. c7!! White's two connected passed pawns defeat
Black's army.
A striking (albeit very unusual) example of the power of passed
pawns is seen in the position in Diagram #7, the conclusion of an
endgame study by Leopold Mitrofanov. Black, with a queen, bishop,
and knight, is helpless against White's two passed pawns, which
threaten both 10. b7# and 10. c8(Q)+ Bb8 11. b7#. If 9. ... Qd5,
10. c8(Q)+ Bb8 11. b7+ Qxb7 12. Qxb7#; if 9. ... Qg6 10. c8(Q)+ Bb8
11. Qb7#; if 9. ... Qa5+, 10. Kxa5 Kb7 11. bxa7 and Black cannot
stop both pawns.
"A passed pawn is a criminal which should be kept under lock and
key. Mild measures, such as police surveillance, are not
sufficient." - Aron Nimzowitsch.
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