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The following article was published in the December 1992 issue of CHECK!. It was my personal contribution to celebrate the 500th issue of this magazine. It has been slightly revised. Passed Pawn Powerby Ralph P. MarconiIn 1749, Francois Andr Danican Philidor understood the power of the "Lowly" pawn when he stated: "I have in mind the play of Pawns. They are the soul of the game." The great Emanual Lasker later stated: "The pawn, being much more stationary than the pieces, is an element of the structure of the position. The way the array of pawns is placed determines the charcater of a position and hence also the plan appropriate to it." Nearly two centuries after the death of Philidor, the renowned chess theorist Aron Nimzovich illustrated the potential "deadly" power of the "passed" pawn by this now well known metaphor: "The passed pawn is a criminal, who should be kept under lock and." And of course he also wrote of the passed pawn's "lust to expand". In this article I will be focussing on the passed pawn. By using a number of illustrative games, I will examine the potential power of the passed pawn and how it dictates the plan of action. I am not so much concerned with how passed pawns are created here, but will simply focus on how play develops when such a pawn comes into existence on the board. All of the following games are tied together with this theme. I have pesented five games, two of which come from my own play. While only a few examples are presented, there are literally thousands upon thousands of games that have been played that could just have easily been included. I hope you enjoy going over them. In the first game I turn a clerical error into an oppoturnity. White: Werner Ansorge (Germany)
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 c5 4.c3 (The Colle setup. It is a solid and secure setup, but, if White reacts passively, he often gets into trouble.) 4...d5 5.Nbd2 Nc6 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.0-0 ( 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.Nb3 deserves consideration.) 7...0-0 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.Nd4? (This allows Black to establish a strong pawn center.) 9...e5! 10.Nxb6 bxc6 11.Bb3 Bb6!? ( 11...Bd6 is also good, but I wanted to reserve d6 for my Queen.) 12.a4 Qd6 13.a5 Bc7 14.f4 Bg4 15.Qe1 Rab8 16.Bc2 e4!? (On the surface, this looks like Black releases the tension in the center prematurely; however, I was uncomfortable with 16...Rfe8?! 17.Qh4! with the threat of fxe5! and a very strong attack for White. The text reduces the effectiveness of White's light squared Bishop. 17.Nd2 Bc8! (This Bishop is headed for a6 where it will exert much pressure on White's position.) 18.Bd1 Ba6 19.Rf2 d4? (This is a clerical error. When analyzing my 19th move, I inadvertently started with the c-pawn on c5 instead of where it is really was on c6 . Hence my decision to play 19...d4 . I neglected to check the master position. The correct move was 19...c5 .) 20.exd4? ( Better was 20.cxd4 and Black is hard pressed to find adequate compensation for the pawn. Now, however, due to my superior piece placement, Black's next move becomes strong.) 20...e3! (see diagram)                      
21.Qxe3 Rfe8 22.Qg3 c5!? (The obvious 22...Re1+ is refuted by 23.Rf1 .) 23.b3 cxd4 24.c4 (Black has created a passed pawn, and it is this pawn which ultimately proves to be White's undoing. Interestingly enough, the potential strength of White's queenside pawn majority is never realized.) 24...Re1+ 25.Rf1 Rxf1 26.Nxf1 Ne4 27.Qd3 Nc5 28.Qg3 d3! 29.Bb2 f6 30.Qe3 Nxb3 31.Bxb3 Rxb3 32.Qe8+ Qf8 33.Qe6+ Kh8 34.Qc6! (On 33.Qxf8+ Kxf8 , Black has the superior endgame.) 34...Rxb2 35.Qxc7? (The wrong Bishop. 35.Qxg6 was necessary.) 35...Qa8! 36.Ne3 Bb7 37.a6 Be4!? . ( 36...Bxg2 also appears possible.) 38.Qd7? ( Another critical mistake. This allows Black the rare opportuntiy to sacrifice his Queen in exchange for a won ending!) 38...Re2! (White realizes that he can now win my Queen, but fails to take into consideration the consequences. Black lulls White into a false sense of security.) 39.Rb1 Rxe3 40.Qd6 h6! (Must not forget to give the Black King an escape square. Even with the loss of a tempo or two the position is still won for Black.) 41.Rb8+ Qxb8 42.Qxb8+ Kh7 43.Qd6 Re1+ 0-1 . (Afer 44.Kf2 Re2+ 45.Kf1 Bxg2+ 46.Kg1 Be4! 47.Kf1 Rc2 , White cannot stop the pawn from queening without giving up his Queen.) In the following game, White Successfully mounts a kingside attack by provoking Black into faulty queenside play. He creates a passed e-pawn by sacrificing his Queen and uses his well coordinated pieces to bring home the victory. White: James Skeels (APCT)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 0-0 6.Be3 c6 7.Bd3 a6 8.Nge2 b5 9.0-0 Nbd7 10.Rc1 e5 11.a3 (Usually, 11.a3 is played.) 11...exd4 12.Nxd4 Bb7 13.cxb5 cxb5 14.Re1 Ne5 15.Bf1 Rc8 16.Bf2 Nc4 17.a4 Bh6 (On 17...Nxb2 18.Qb3+ Nc4 19.Bxc4 Rxc4 20.axb5 and White controls the queenside.) 18.axb5 Bxc1 19.Qxc1 Qa5 20.Qg5! (Taking advantage of Black's King position and absent Queen. The dark squares provide White a means of attack). 20...Nh5 21.Nf5 f6 22.Ne7+! (see daigram) (Setting up a rude surprise)  
The following game was submitted by Peter Metelski of Calgary, Alberta, in response to my request for games. Peter writes: "The creation of a passed pawn by White decides the game in short order. Not only does the pawn threaten to promote, but it tosses the would-be Black defenders about the board like a bull in a china shop!" White: Peter Metelski 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.exd6 cxd6 6.Nc3 g6 7.Nf3 Bg4 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 Bg7?! 10.Qxb7 N8d7 11.Nb5 Rc8 12.Bg5 0-0 13.Rc1 ( 13.Nxd6 seems to risky after 13...Re8 and ...f6 ) 13...h6 ( 13...Rb8 14.Qa6 f6 seems good.) 14.Be3 Ra8 (White's plan centers around the creation of a passed pawn by advancing the c-pawn; but, surely the pawn will be doomed amongst the Black Knights, Rook and Queen! Or will it?) 15.c5!! dxc5 16.dxc5 Bxb2 (Alternatively 16...Na4 17.c6 Ne5 18.c7 Qc8 19.Qxc8 Rfxc8 20.Nxa7 Rxa7 21.Bxa7 Nxb2 22.Ba6 Nbd3+ 23.Kd2 +/- .) 17.Rd1 Rd8 18.Qa6 (Not 18...Qxa7? . when the White Queen becomes a target. 1-0. The game may have continued: 18...Nc8 19.c6 Rb6 20.Bxb6 Qxb6 21.Qxb6 Ndxb6 + - . In the next game, I miss a chance to win on move 26. Therefore, I had to win all over again 20 moves later with the help of a couple of passed pawns. White: Wayne Ballantyne (USA) 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 Ne7 (More flexible than the standard 4...c5 . If White then decides to play the aggressive 5.Qg4 , at this point, Black has 5...Nf5 as an option.) 5.Nf3 (The positional Winawer.) 5...c5 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 Bd7 8.a4 Qa5 9.Bd2 Nbc6 10.Be2 f6 11.exf6 ( 11.c4 is the normal reply. White decides to forego this move. In my opinion, this is where White starts to go wrong.) 11...gxf6 12.0-0 Qc7 13.dxc5?! 0-0-0 14.Nd4 a6! 15.Nb3?! e5! -/+ (Black now has a strong center and the better game. Playing 15...e5 is a thematic objective for Black in the French.) 16.Qe1 Rdg8 17.f3 Bh3 18.Rf2 Rg6 19.Bd3 Bf5 20.Kh1 R8g8 21.g4 Bxd3 22.cxd3 Rh8 23.Re2 Qd8 24.Qh4 Qg8 25.d4 h6 26.h3? Kb8? ( 26...h5! would have won now.) 27.Qh5 Qf7 28.f4 e4 29.f5 Rg7 30.Qxf7 Rxf7 31.Rf1 h5 32.Kg1 hxg4 33.hxg4 Rg8 34.Rg2 Kc7 35.g5 fxg5 36.f6 R8f8 37.R2f2 Ng8 38.Bg5 Kd7 39.Rf5 Ke6 40.R1f4 Nf6 41.c4 cxd4 42.Bf6 cxb3 43.d5 Kd7 44.dxc6 Kxc6 45.Rf1 b2 46.R5f2 e3! 0-1. (The resignation seems premature on the surface, but Black will regain the piece and win at least one pawn if not both. The two passed pawns are too much for White to handle!) The final game, also played in the NTC-1, is good example of the strength of the passed pawn backed up with the superiority of the two Bishops. White: John Vehre 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Qb6 5.Nb3 Nf6 6.Nc3 e6 7.Bd3 Bb4 8.Bd2 0-0 9.a3 Be7 10.f4 d6 11.Qf3 Bd7 12.Be3 Qc7 13.0-0 a6 14.Na4 b5 15.Nb6 Rab8 16.Nd7 Nxd7 17.Qh3 Nc5 18.Nxc5 dxc5 19.e5 g6 20.Be4 Rfd8 21.Rad1 Rxd1 22.Rxd1 Rd8 23.Rxd8+ Nxd8 24.Qf3 Qa5 25.Qd1 Qc7 26.c4 Nc6 27.Qd3 Nd4 28.b4 bxc4 29.Qxc4 Nb5 30.bxc5 Nxa3 31.Qc1 Nb5 32.c6 Bb4 33.Qc4 Ba5 34.Qc5 Nc3 35.Bf3 Na4 36.Qa7 Qc8 37.Qb7 Nb6 38.c7 Kg7 39.Kh1 Qe8 40.Bxb6 Qb5 41.c8=Q Bxb6 42.Qc1 a5 43.Qe7 1-0. copyright 1992, 1998 by Ralph P. Marconi. All rights reserved. |