Queen's pawn

The queen's pawn is a pawn on the d-file, the vertical column on which the queens begin the game. In the initial position, White's pawn is on d2 and Black's is on d7. Modern texts also call them d-pawns.

The expression comes from the traditional naming of files. The e-file gives the king's pawn, the b- and g-files hold knight pawns, and the a- and h-files hold rook pawns. The relationship comes from the initial pieces behind those pawns.

A queen's pawn is not every pawn on the queenside. The a-, b-, and c-files form the queenside flank, while the d-file is central. The name also identifies the file on which the pawn stands; a capture can change that location-based description.

The queen's pawn occupies the d-file

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

a1

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

The d-file aligns each queen's pawn with the queen that begins behind it.

The d-file remains outside the lateral flank

The pawns on d2 and d7 take their name from the queens on d1 and d8. The a, b, and c pawns form the queenside flank, but they are not queen's pawns.

1. The d-file aligns each queen's pawn with the queen that begins behind it.
2. Files a, b, and c form the queenside flank; none is the queen's-pawn file.