Passed PawnsCreating them, escorting them, and stopping them.ChessA passed pawn has no enemy pawn ahead of it on its own or adjacent files.1Create oneA pawn break in a majority: push the candidate — the one with noopposing pawn in front.2Blockade theirsA knight is the ideal blockader; it still watches other squares.3Escort yoursWith the king. A pawn without support is stopped easily.4Create an outside passerIt draws their king away, and yours eats the other wing.RULES OF THUMBAn outside passed pawn is worth more than a central oneTwo connected passers on the 6th beat a rookA protected passed pawn is a long-term winning assetTwo connected passed pawns on the sixth rank cannot be stopped by arook. One of them promotes.Passed Pawnslearnposters.com
Passed Pawns — printable games wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

Passed Pawns, step by step

A passed pawn has no enemy pawn ahead of it on its own or adjacent files.

  1. Create oneA pawn break in a majority: push the candidate — the one with no opposing pawn in front.
  2. Blockade theirsA knight is the ideal blockader; it still watches other squares.
  3. Escort yoursWith the king. A pawn without support is stopped easily.
  4. Create an outside passerIt draws their king away, and yours eats the other wing.

Rules of thumb

  • An outside passed pawn is worth more than a central one
  • Two connected passers on the 6th beat a rook
  • A protected passed pawn is a long-term winning asset

Two connected passed pawns on the sixth rank cannot be stopped by a rook. One of them promotes.

Questions about the Passed Pawns poster

What’s on the Passed Pawns poster?
4 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. A passed pawn has no enemy pawn ahead of it on its own or adjacent files. Create one — A pawn break in a majority: push the candidate — the one with no opposin…; Blockade theirs — A knight is the ideal blockader; it still watches other squares.; Escort yours — With the king. A pawn without support is stopped easily.; Create an outside passer — It draws their king away, and yours eats the other wing.. Two connected passed pawns on the sixth rank cannot be stopped by a rook. One of them promotes.
Who is the Passed Pawns poster for?
Passed Pawns belongs to the Chess section rather than to a school year, because games is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning endgames can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Passed Pawns poster?
Passed pawns must be pushed — but only with the king escorting. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Passed Pawns belongs on the wall where that games work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Passed Pawns?
Basic Checkmates, Bishop Endgames and King Activity sit alongside Passed Pawns in the Chess section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Basic CheckmatesBishop EndgamesKing Activity
Is the Passed Pawns poster free to download and print?
Yes. Passed Pawns downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Chess section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Passed Pawns poster print at?
Passed Pawns is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Passed Pawns loses nothing.Printing guide

Related posters

Charts that sit alongside Passed Pawns on the same wall.

Browse every Chess poster, or start from the full catalogue.