Chess pawn structure
What Is a Passed Pawn in Chess?
A passed pawn is a pawn with no enemy pawns in front of it on its own file or on either neighboring file. No pawn can stop or capture it on its way to promotion, so only pieces can stop it.
Example
1. a5 Kd6 2. Kd4 Kc6 3. Ke5 Kb5 4. Kf6 Kxa5 5. Kxf7
White's a-pawn is an outside passed pawn. The black king has to go all the way to a5 to stop it, and while it does, the white king walks to f6 and starts eating the kingside pawns. White wins.
Why passed pawns are so strong
A passed pawn threatens to promote, so the opponent must keep a piece watching it. That piece is tied down and cannot take part in the rest of the game. The further the pawn advances, the more force it takes to stop it.
In the endgame, a passed pawn is often the decisive factor. An outside passed pawn, one far from the other pawns, is especially strong because it drags the enemy king away from the main action, as in the example.
Types of passed pawns
A protected passed pawn is defended by another pawn, so the enemy king cannot simply take it. Connected passed pawns stand on neighboring files and can protect each other as they advance. Two connected passed pawns on the sixth rank usually beat a rook.
Pawn majorities create passed pawns. If you have three pawns against two on one wing, you can usually make a passed pawn there by advancing the majority.
How to play with and against a passed pawn
Support your passed pawn with pieces and push it when it is safe. Rooks belong behind passed pawns, both your own and the opponent's, because the rook's range grows as the pawn advances.
To stop an enemy passed pawn, blockade it with a piece on the square in front of it, ideally a knight or the king. Stopping it early, before it gets far, is much easier than chasing it later.
Common questions
What is an outside passed pawn?
A passed pawn far from the other pawns, usually on the a-file or h-file side. It lures the enemy king away, so your king can attack the pawns left behind.
Where should rooks go with a passed pawn?
Behind it. A rook behind its own passed pawn supports every step, and a rook behind an enemy passed pawn attacks it more and more as it advances.
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