Connected Pawns vs Bishop: The Long Diagonal Defense

Two connected passed pawns are dangerous against a bishop, but a bishop that reaches the right diagonal stops them dead.

Not a blockade. The defender does not park the bishop in front of the pawns. He puts it on the long diagonal that hits the rook pawn's queening square, here a8 on the a8 to h1 line.

The sacrifice at the end. When the pawn reaches a7, the bishop drops onto a8 in front of it. Winning that bishop means burying your own king in the corner, and the defending king then rounds up the second pawn and delivers stalemate.

How far is far enough. Connected pawns win when they get high enough to cover each other's advance squares. From the second and fourth ranks, with the defending king able to return, they do not.

Aim at a pawn. When the pawns have not yet reached the defending king, there is an active resource: aim the bishop straight at a pawn. Either it advances, which only makes it easier to blockade, or a piece stays tied to its defense.

In this drill you push two pawns that look overwhelming and cannot be pushed through.