Passed pawn

A passed pawn has no enemy pawns ahead of it on its own file or on either neighboring file. A file is a vertical line of the board. Only the area in the pawn's direction of movement matters; an enemy pawn behind it does not remove its passed status.

Being passed does not mean being unstoppable. An enemy king or piece may still blockade or capture the pawn. Its power comes from the threat of promotion. When it reaches the last rank, it must immediately be replaced by a queen, rook, bishop, or knight of the same color. The opponent often has to spend time and pieces preventing that advance.

What determines its strength

• Advance: the closer it is to promotion, the less time the opponent has to react.
• Support: a protected passed pawn is defended by another pawn and is often harder to blockade.
• Connection: two passers on neighboring files can support each other as connected pawns.
• Activity: the king and pieces must help it advance or use it to distract defenders.
• Blockade: a piece placed directly in front can stop the pawn while other pieces attack it from the side or from behind.

A pawn majority, more pawns than the opponent in one sector, may create a passer after exchanges. Before that happens, the pawn most likely to become passed is called a candidate passed pawn. The distinction depends on the current enemy pawns, not on a future intention.