AnAn: The Passed Pawn
The passed pawn is a game changer. “The passed Pawn is a criminal, who should be kept under lock and key.”
BY ANAN LIU - NORTH GWINNETT MIDDLE SCHOOL
HER LEAGUE MEMBER & HER NEWS COLUMNIST
Image created by AnAn Liu using Canva
The pawn: a seemingly small, unnoticeable, and unimportant piece on the chess board. Worth only a single point, the pawn certainly doesn’t top the knight’s chiseled figure, nor the queen’s power and versatility. Pawns are considered the ‘first soldiers’ in chess; they’re the ones that dive into battle first, often with no gain at all. Many chess players have expressed their major dislike for pawns. DaisyWynn, a user on Chess.com, stated, “Pawns—totally useless [in my opinion]”, and a Lichess player, chessypiano, quoted, “I hate the f [square] pawn the most… if your opponent moves it you have no space; but everytime you move… you get punished [sic].” Needless to say, the pawn clearly does not rank very high on players’ leaderboards. But what transforms this minor piece into a lethal weapon for players from grandmasters to novices?
The answer is three words: the passed pawn. A game changer, “the passed Pawn is a criminal, who should be kept under lock and key. Mild measures… are not sufficient,” as Aron Nimzowitsch describes. Nimzowitsch, an influential grandmaster, paints the passed pawn as a dangerous piece as it advances to the other side of the board where none of its enemies can stop it. Once on their eighth rank, players can choose to promote their pawn to a knight, bishop, rook, or even a queen. This means that a piece worth one point can actually be worth nine, a huge advantage to have. As a matter of fact, in a book titled The Road to Chess Mastery by chess master Max Euwe, an extra pawn guarantees a winning advantage 90 percent of the time. In the middle/endgames, where minor pieces such as knights and bishops are still in play, the “plus Pawn is decisive in perhaps 50 to 60 percent of the cases” (Euwe, pg xvi). Another show of the passed pawn’s strength is in its power in numbers; Euwe analyzed this a page later: “Two connected passed Pawns are very strong, and when such Pawns reach their 6th rank, they are in general equal in power to a Rook.” (Euwe, pg xvii).
But sometimes, a passed pawn in an endgame might not be enough to set the score. In endgames where two kings and a few pawns are left, an outcome of a draw may be likely, even if the pawns are passed. To illustrate, take a look at a game between grandmasters Grigoriy Oparin and Ivan Saric from Round 4 of the 38th European Club Cup. Oparin was playing white while Saric was black. From move 42, Oparin has a passed pawn on the d-file. But can he secure a win with it? Saric’s king is within the Square Rule, which means that Saric still has a chance to snag a draw or a stalemate. With move 44, he does just that: Oparin realizes that Saric will not be giving up the fight. As the two kings and pawn duel in a never-ending fight, by move 53, the two players shake hands. Even with a passed pawn, Saric was able to block Oparin’s promotion by placing his king on the d8 square, forcing a stalemate between the two grandmasters.
With potential to win and to completely tilt the playing field, the passed pawn has much more power than many think. Powerless when alone, powerful when linked, and almost unstoppable when passed—the true definition of a pawn.
Works Cited
Chess.com. (2021, February 23). The chess piece which you hate the most. https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/the-chess-piece-which-you-hate-the-most
lichess.org. (2021). What is the most hated chess piece on board?. what is the most hated chess piece on board? https://lichess.org/forum/general-chess-discussion/what-is-the-most-hated-chess-piece-on-board
AZ Quotes. (n.d.). Chess Pawns Quotes. TOP 25 CHESS PAWNS QUOTES | A-Z Quotes. https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/chess-pawns.html
Euwe, M., & Meiden, W. (1968). The Endgame. In The Road to Chess Mastery. introduction, George Allen & Unwin Ltd.
Chess24. (n.d.). Oparin, Grigoriy vs. Saric, Ivan | 38th European Club Cup | 2023 | chess24.com. https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/european-club-cup-2023/4/4/4
Chess.com. (n.d.). Square Rule. Square Rule - Chess Terms - Chess.com. https://www.chess.com/terms/square-rule-chess#:~:text=Conclusion-,What%20Is%20The%20Square%20Rule%3F,square%20on%20its%20next%20move.