Passed Pawns and the Rule of the Square: Order Matters
White to play and win
PlayBoth sides are racing. Your a-pawns look two moves from a queen, but touch them now and you lose. The king has to shut down the h-pawn first.
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Stop the Runner First, Then Queen
White to play and win · Win against perfect defense
Waking the engine…
The theory
Watch the method: press play to see the winning idea run, or step through it move by move.
Leave the a-pawns alone for a moment. 1.a7? loses: it empties a6, and Black replies Kb7! and simply takes the new pawn. 1.Kxg5? is worse: after h3 the h-pawn runs and your king is four moves from h1. Both natural moves lose.
When both sides are racing, the order of moves is everything, and the obvious move is usually the losing one.
Stop the runner first. The h-pawn is three moves from queening, and only Kh3 or Kf3 deal with it. Kh3 blocks the road outright: h4 cannot advance, and if g4+ then Kxh4 kills the pair.
Do not push too early. a7 immediately loses, because it empties a6 and lets the black king into b7 to take the new pawn. Kxg5 loses too: the h-pawn simply queens.
Then the a-pawns decide. Once the black king has committed to the wrong side, a7 is the only move and the pawn promotes whatever he plays.
In this drill the defense never cracks. Neutralize the h-pawn, then run.
Keep going
Mined Squares: c4 and b6
White to play and draw
Winning with a Frozen King
White to play and win
The Bishop Sacrifice That Buries a King
White to play and win
All 68 king & pawn positionsFollow the full curriculum (free)