A passed pawn grows stronger with every step it takes, so the side that owns it should push and the side facing it should stop it dead. Learn when to advance, why the rook belongs behind the pawn, and why a knight on the square in front of it is the best blockader, as Nimzowitsch taught.
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A passed pawn is a pawn with no enemy pawn in front of it or on either neighbouring file. Left alone it walks to the eighth rank, and every step it takes ties down another enemy piece. The owner pushes it. The defender puts a piece on the square in front of it and leaves it there.
What you will learn
01How to spot a passed pawn and why it gets stronger with every step.
02When to push: rook behind the pawn, and nothing yet in front of it.
03Why the knight is the best blockader, following Nimzowitsch’s My System.
04Why a queen makes a poor blockader.
The plan
Four sections. A white pawn on d5 with no black pawn on the c-, d- or e-file. A rook ending with the pawn on d6, the white rook behind it on d1 and the black rook stuck in front of it on d7. A black knight on d6 blockading a pawn on d5: no pawn can chase the knight, the pawn shields it from the rook, and it still attacks b5, c4, e4 and f5. And a black queen on d6 doing the same job badly, chased away by a knight on e4.
The club mistake on the defending side is to attack the pawn instead of stopping it. A pawn that cannot move is a weakness; a pawn that moves is a threat. Blockade first and win it later. On the owning side the mistake is to wait. A passed pawn that stays on d5 lets the defender bring a knight to d6, and then the pawn is just a target.
How to practise it
Three quiz positions. In the first and third you stop a passed pawn on d5 and then on d4 before it forks your pieces; in the second you push. One move each, by voice or tap. This lesson is in Pro.
A piece placed on the square directly in front of an enemy passed pawn so the pawn cannot advance. Aron Nimzowitsch made the idea famous in My System.
Why is a knight the best blockader?
It keeps its full range on the blockading square, the pawn in front of it shields it from rooks and the queen on the file, and in an open position no pawn can easily chase it.