Passed pawn

A passed pawn is a pawn with no enemy pawn in front of it or on an adjacent file, so nothing can step in its way.

White’s d-pawn is passedabcdefgh12345678

Enemy pieces can still block or capture it, but no pawn can. That is why passers grow stronger as pieces come off: the king and a rook have to babysit a square that a pawn would have covered for free.

The pawn on d5 has a clear road. Black’s only pawn is on f7, two files away. White’s job is to escort d5; Black’s job is to blockade it, ideally with the king or a knight.

Creating a passer — by trading the last enemy pawn on neighboring files — is a common winning plan the coach will name in the endgame.

Play this position