Passed pawn
From Chesspedia, the Free Chess Encyclopedia.
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| White's pawns on b5, c4, and e5 are passed pawns. Black's pawn on d4 is passed. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A passed pawn is a chess pawn (also see chess piece) for which there are no opposing pawns to prevent it from advancing to the eighth rank, i.e. no opposing pawns on a higher rank on the same file nor the files to either side. A passed pawn is sometimes called a passer. In this position, the white pawns on the b5, c4, and e5 squares are passed pawns. Black's pawn on d4 is a passed pawn. Passed pawns are an advantage because it requires the intervention of an opponent's piece to stop them from promoting. Often a piece must be sacrificed to prevent a passed pawn from promoting. The play of passed pawns is often of fundamental importance in endgames.
A pawn that is protected by its own pawns is called a protected passed pawn. In the first diagram, 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. The b and c pawns are connected passed pawns. A pair of connected passed pawns is sometimes called a steamroller.
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| White wins because of his outside passed pawn on a2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
An outside passed pawn is a passed pawn that is one that is on the opposite side of the board as the kings, e.g. the pawn on the a file in the second diagram. The black king will be diverted to stop White's passed pawn and in the meantime, the white king can attack and capture black's pawns, and win the game.
Passed pawns are one of the most crucial features toward the ending of a chess game. The way that the pawns are managed and dealt with can be the deciding factor for a game's victor. Since passed pawns have no opposing pawns to stop them, the opponent must resort to using higher-ranking pieces in order to block or capture the pawn, wasting valuable time and possibly pieces. If they are not dealt with, the pawns will become promoted into higher-ranking pieces such as the queen, which will therefore turn the game into the favor of one who's pawn can arrive at the eighth rank of the chess board.
