How to recognise a passed pawn
Look at the squares in front of the pawn on its own file and on the two files beside it. A white pawn on d5 is passed if Black has no pawn on c6, c7, d6, d7, e6 or e7. Enemy pawns behind it, or on files further away, do not matter.
Several kinds have their own names. A protected passed pawn is defended by another pawn. Connected passed pawns stand on neighbouring files and can protect each other as they advance. An outside passed pawn is far from the other pawns, often on the a- or h-file, and is especially strong in endgames.
Why passed pawns are strong
A passed pawn is a permanent threat to promote, so an enemy piece has to keep watching it. The further it advances, the more attention it needs, and that piece is then missing from the rest of the board.
In pawn endings a useful check is the rule of the square. Draw a square with one side running from the pawn to its promotion square. If the defending king is inside that square, or can step into it on its move, it catches a lone pawn that gets no help from its own king; if not, the pawn promotes. A pawn still on its starting square counts as if it stood one rank higher, because it can move two squares.
Playing with and against a passed pawn
With a passed pawn, advance it when it is supported, keep pieces nearby and put rooks behind it, where they gain scope as it moves forward. An outside passed pawn works as a decoy: the defending king has to go after it, and your king takes the pawns it left behind.
Against a passed pawn, blockade it by placing a piece on the square in front of it. A knight is the classic blockader, because it keeps its full range of moves while standing in the pawn's path. Exchanges usually help the side with the passed pawn, so the defender should keep enough pieces to stay active.
Common mistakes
- Pushing a passed pawn far ahead of its support, so that it is blockaded and then won.
- Putting a rook in front of your own passed pawn, where it blocks the pawn and has little scope.
- Calling a pawn passed when an enemy pawn on a neighbouring file can still capture it as it advances.
Questions about passed pawn
Can a pawn on its starting square be passed?
Yes. Being passed depends only on the absence of enemy pawns ahead of it on its own and neighbouring files, not on how far it has advanced.
What is the rule of the square?
A quick test for whether a king can catch a lone passed pawn: if the king can step into the square formed between the pawn and its promotion rank, it catches the pawn.
What is an outside passed pawn?
A passed pawn far from the other pawns, usually on a rook's file. It drags the enemy king away so your own king can attack elsewhere.
Practise it
- Promotion puzzles from real games, with solutions