Two Connected Passed Pawns: The King on a Leash

Watch the method: press play to see the winning idea run, or step through it move by move.

Two connected passed pawns are a powerful weapon, but this position has a catch: your king cannot escort them, because it cannot leave the queenside either.

The leash. Black's c4 pawn is protected by b5 and your b4 pawn is blocked, so it is a protected passed pawn. Your king must stay inside its square, which runs c4, c1, f1, f4. That box is where the whole first half of the game takes place.

The three-stage plan. Kling and Horwitz laid it out in 1851 and nobody has improved on it. One: advance the pawns as far as they safely go, using the king to support them from inside the box. Two: place them 'ready to roll', on g5 and h5 with the king on f4. Three: pick the exact moment to leave the box.

Not a charge. Connected passers defend each other, but only once they are supported. Push g4 on move one and Kxg4 just takes it. Each pawn advances when the other pawn or the king covers the square.

In this drill the defender does nothing but wait. Your job is the buildup, and one careless step out of the box throws everything away.