The Passed Pawn in Chess: Types and How to Create One

A passed pawn is one of the fundamental ideas in chess strategy. It's a pawn with no enemy pawn left, on its own file or on either neighboring file, standing between it and promotion. <!-- no FR counterpart --> Understanding passed pawn chess theory opens up a whole new layer of the game. Here's what this guide covers.

• The different types of passed pawns.
• How to create one.
• How to use a passed pawn to invade your opponent's position.

What Is a Passed Pawn in Chess?

A passed pawn no longer has any enemy pawns left that can stop it from reaching the far side of the board. Let's look at an example right away.

The only passed pawn in this position is White's pawn on h2. White's g2 pawn is stopped by Black's pawn on f7. Black's c7 pawn, in turn, has White's pawn on b2 standing in its way.

Once you have a passed pawn, the natural urge is to push it toward the end of the board right away. Just be careful to support it with your pieces, and even with your king in the endgame, so it doesn't turn into a weakness instead of a strength.

The Different Types of Passed Pawns

Here are a few key situations worth knowing if you want a solid grasp of positional chess.

The Outside Passed Pawn

This is a passed pawn sitting far from the center of the board, out on the wing. To stop it, the opponent has to pull their pieces away from the action, which is exactly when you can strike on the other flank.

Let's look at an example right away.

White's h2 pawn is an outside passed pawn. Black's f7 pawn is passed too, but it sits much closer to the center of the board. This position is winning for White. Black's king has to deal with the h-pawn, and White's king has to deal with the f-pawn. Once both pawns have been captured, White's king ends up closer to Black's remaining pawns than Black's king is to White's. <!-- no FR counterpart --> That kind of foot race between the two kings is exactly what decides so many pawn endgames.

The Protected Passed Pawn

A pawn is called a protected passed pawn when one of its own pawns defends it. Let's look at an example.

This position is winning for White again. The protected passed pawn is White's pawn on b5, and it forces Black's king to stay close by. If Black's king goes to capture the pawn on a4, for instance, the b5 pawn is free to run all the way to queen.

White is then completely free to go pick up Black's h5 pawn before heading back to the queenside to help the b5 pawn promote.

This example shows just how strong a protected passed pawn can be. Keep in mind that the best piece for blockading it is the knight. A knight parked in front of a passed pawn stops it from advancing while still doing useful work on the rest of the board.

Connected Passed Pawns

Connected pawns sit on adjacent files. They're passed when there are no enemy pawns left to stop them from reaching the eighth rank. Let's look at an example.

White's c4 and d5 pawns are connected passed pawns. In a pawn endgame, they defend each other. The c4 pawn defends the d5 pawn directly. And the d5 pawn defends c4 indirectly too, because it would queen if Black's king captured on c4. White's king is therefore completely free to go grab Black's remaining pawn and then come back to help its own pawns advance.

How to Create a Passed Pawn

Now for the real challenge. The idea is to make the pawn structure asymmetrical through an exchange, <!-- no FR counterpart --> often the direct result of a well-timed pawn break. That gives you a pawn majority somewhere on the board, more pawns than your opponent in that sector, and it's then a matter of pushing them to create a passed pawn. Before we get to an example, there's one more idea worth stressing.

Support Points

A pawn pushed deep into enemy territory automatically controls a few interesting squares. Those become outposts where you can try to plant your pieces, often a knight or a rook, protected by the pawn itself.

Here's an example of a player mobilizing a pawn majority to create a passed pawn. Click through the moves to bring up a diagram at each step.

White resigned because Black was about to bring the rook to d1, and there was no way to stop the c-pawn from promoting without giving up material. Notice in this game how Black used the support points created by their own pawn to infiltrate their rooks into White's position.

Your Move

To keep reading, here's a good next step.

• Read our guide to doubled pawns.

That's our guide to the passed pawn in chess. We hope you found it useful. If you did, feel free to share it with your chess friends.