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Mastering Passed Pawns:
From Creation to Promotion
This comprehensive guide equips you with everything you need to learn about passed pawns in chess.
Learn how to create passed pawns from various positions, protect them effectively, and ultimately convert them into unstoppable queens!
Passed Pawn Wikipedia Page
What is a Passed Pawn?
In chess, a passed pawn is a pawn that has advanced beyond all of the opponent's pawns and has no enemy pawns on either the same file (vertical line) or adjacent files blocking its path to promotion.
Imagine a clear path ahead, with no enemy pawns to stop it. That's a passed pawn!
Why are Passed Pawns Important?
Passed pawns are valuable because they have a strong chance of being promoted to a powerful queen. Since only your opponent's pieces can hinder your pawn's progress, a passed pawn with proper support can be a game-winning advantage in the endgame.
Types of Passed Pawns:
There are various types of passed pawns, each with its own strategic considerations. Here are a few examples you might encounter:
- Isolated Passed Pawn: Stands alone on a file with no friendly pawns nearby.
- Connected Passed Pawns: Two or more passed pawns standing side-by-side on adjacent files.
- Outside Passed Pawns: Located on the "a" or "h" file (farthest from the king), often requiring special strategies.
Passed Pawn Chess Articles
Dive deeper into passed pawn concepts with these insightful articles.
- Creating a Passed Pawn from a Pawn Majority - Article showing Several ways of going about it.
- The Mighty Connected Passed Pawns - Nice Article
- Pushing Passed Pawns - Chess Improver Article
- Outside Passed Pawn (1) - Chess Improver Article
The Wayback Machine: Your Ally in Chess History
While some classic chess resources may disappear from the internet, their wisdom lives on! Here, we delve into archived articles.Silmans Opening Archive Articles
Opening Analysis - Beating the Dragon - Karel van der Weide
Combating the Sicilian Dragon - IM Andrew Martin
Levenfish Attack - IM Andrew Martin
Dragon Forever - IM Andrew Martin
ACCELERATED DRAGON (UOGELE VARIATION) - IM John Donaldson
ACCELERATED DRAGON (NON-MAROCZY)
MAIN LINE WITH 11…Qh5 - IM John Donaldson & Silman
Accelerated Dragon Marcozy Bind - Jeremy Silman
How to Beat a Grandmaster - IM Timothy Taylor
Part 1 - Accelerated Dragon Marcozy Bind
Part 2 - Accelerated Dragon Marcozy Bind
Part 3 - Accelerated Dragon Marcozy Bind
ChessCafe Articles
The Yugoslav Attack - 13 Page Article By IM Gary Lane
Traps in the Dragon - IM Gary Lane
The Sicilian Dragon: Yugoslav Attack (B 78) - Informant @ Chesscafe
Remember:
The Wayback Machine is a powerful tool for accessing historical chess content. Utilize it to unearth hidden gems and enrich your chess knowledge!
Passed Pawn Lichess Studies
These interactive Lichess studies provide the perfect platform to transform your passed pawns into unstoppable queens.
- Passed Pawn Practice - 16 Chapter Interactive Study
- Pawn Structure 2 - 25 Chapter Study (Nice in-depth Study)
- Passed Pawns: Reassess your chess - 25 chapter Study (Lot of info from Silman's Book)
- Chess Homework Passed Pawns - 23 Chapter Study - Nice Study of Passed Pawn exercises.
Games Databases
Witness Passed Pawns in Action: Explore Real Game Examples
Chessgames.com (Game Collections)
- THE POWERFUL PASSED PAWNS - 37 Games
- Passed Pawns - 190 Games
Passed Pawn Lesson Videos
GM Johan Hellsten (U.S. Chess School) (These are Gold)
Discusses the strategic and tactical aspects of passed pawns in chess, using examples from his own games and famous matches. He emphasizes the importance of advancing passed pawns, removing their defenders, and the role of other pieces in supporting pawn promotion.
- Passed Pawns - Part 1 | U.S. Chess School - 71 Min - GM Johan Hellsten delivers a lecture focusing on the idea of passed pawns w/ 8 examples.
- Passed Pawns Part 2 | U.S. Chess School - 73 Min - GM Johan Hellsten delivers the second part of a lecture focusing on the idea of passed pawns w/ 9 examples.
Passed Pawns: What to Do? | Secret Life of Pawns - GM Varuzhan Akobian - 36 Min - Shows his game against Vietnamese GM Nguyen from the 2017 World Rapid Championship. See the crucial moments in this game where passed pawns were the focal point.
The Passed Pawn is Making a Run for It! | Secret Life of Pawns - GM Denes Boros - 50 Mins - Grandmaster Denes Boros shows strong games, including his own, where a passed pawn sealed a victory.
Outside Passed Pawns
- Creating An Outside Passed Pawn in Chess | GM Alex Ipatov - 8 Min
- Outside Passed Pawn Explained in 7 minutes! - Daily Lesson with a GM 295 - 7 Min - Learn why outside passed pawns are a decisive advantage in King and Pawn Endgames. GM Gabuzyan breaks down all the fundamentals you need to know about such pawns in this chess lesson.
- Winning Techniques to Stop the Outside Passed Pawns | Intermediate Level | IM Andrey Ostrovskiy - 7 Min - You will learn different methods how to stop the pawn promotion if the opponent's passed pawn is located on the a- or h-file.
Connected Passed Pawns
- How to handle connected Passed Pawns in Bishop Endgames? | Intermediate Level | IM Andrey Ostrovskiy - 18 Min - IM Andrey Ostrovskiy will teach you how to play with and against two connected passed pawns in the opposite colored bishop endgame.
- A Subtle Way to Create Connected Passed Pawns - Daily Lesson with a GM 361 - 7 Min - GM Avetik shows how you can create connected passed pawns by sacrificing material at the right time.
Passed Pawn Endgames
- Rook & Passed Pawn Endgames - Endgames for Tournament Players - 23 Min - St.Louis CC - Learn how to enforce your passed Pawn by placing your Rook behind it.
- Understanding Passed Pawns | Principles of Chess Endgames | GM Naroditsky - 54 Min - After clarifying the definition, we consider the various ways of creating passed pawns, and identify five special types of passers that frequently occur in pawn endgames.
- Crush your Opponents With Passed Pawns in the Endgame! - GM Roman Dzindzichashvili - 20 Min - we learn about how to create passed pawns in the endgame. We also see how we can attempt to stop our opponent from doing the same thing.
Pawn Breakthroughs
- Pawn Breakthroughs - GM Ben Finegold - 42 Min - Grandmaster Ben Finegold guides you through a jungle of tied-up pawns. How do we untangle this mess and break through with a powerful passed pawn? Sacrifices, king position, and more...
- What a Pawn Wants, What a Pawn Needs | The Secret Life of Pawns - GM Yasser Seirawan - 35 Min - shows examples of increasingly difficult pawn breakthroughs. Even when the position looks perfectly symmetrical there are ways to get a passed pawn.
- Pawn Races & Breakthroughs - FM Aviv Friedman - 46 Min - Using a variety of compositions and games, Aviv refines our knowledge of Pawn sacrifices (to create passed Pawns) and King opposition.
