Project approval after AI review on November 2, 2026. Human proofreading is still pending.
Lesson 30
Why you blockade a passed pawn
- What you will learn
- You understand why it is not enough to control the square in front of a passed pawn from a distance, and you place a piece directly in front of it.
- What you should already know
- How a piece blockades a pawn
- How to secure a blockade
- Lesson 19: A blockade does not hold by itself
Time: about 5 minutes
Thinking questions in this lesson
You can ask yourself these thinking questions in any position. They help you find a good move.
- What is the threat?
- Which pawn move changes the position?
- Which piece could be better placed?
Step 1 of 6
Look first
A position that Nimzowitsch sets up as an example in “The Blockade”. White has blockaded the black pawns on d5 and e6 with two knights.
You are playing Black. Tap all your pieces that have almost no squares left because of the blockade. Check your answer once you have marked them all.
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space marks a square or removes the mark.
Choose a square from a list
Position as a list
White
- King g3
- Knight d4
- Knight e5
- Pawn a5
- Pawn b5
Black
- King g8
- Rook a8
- Bishop c8
- Pawn a7
- Pawn b7
- Pawn d5
- Pawn e6
Step 2 of 6
Decide
A second example from Nimzowitsch: Black has a passed pawn, and his pieces protect and support it. You already know that a piece directly in front of a passed pawn stands well. Here it is about the why.
You are playing White. How do you hold up the passed pawn on d5, and why?
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.
Position as a list
White
- King g1
- Bishop f2
- Knight b3
Black
- King h7
- Rook d8
- Bishop b7
- Knight f6
- Pawn d5
Step 3 of 6
Try it
Suppose White leaves the pieces on b3 and f2 where they are.
You are playing Black. White only controls the square d4 from a distance. With which move do you bring bishop, rook and knight to life?
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.
Choose a move from a list
Position as a list
White
- King g1
- Bishop f2
- Knight b3
Black
- King h7
- Rook d8
- Bishop b7
- Knight f6
- Pawn d5
Step 4 of 6
Why does it work?
Nimzowitsch compares the passed pawn to a dangerous criminal: police supervision is not enough, he belongs in prison.
Besides, the blockader often stands well: a rook behind the pawn cannot attack the blockader directly, because its own pawn is in the way. And the blockade often freezes not only the pawn but also the pieces behind it.
Key idea
Against a passed pawn it is usually not enough to control the square in front of it from a distance: otherwise it advances, even if it falls in doing so, and makes room for its pieces.
When does this apply?
Check whether the piece on the blockading square is safe. If the opponent can drive it away easily, the blockade will not last long.
Step 5 of 6
New position, same idea
A game of Nimzowitsch’s from 1923, which he shows in “The Blockade”. He has White; Sämisch has Black.
You are playing Black. White has a passed pawn on d5. How do you hold it up safely?
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.
Choose a move from a list
Position as a list
White
- King g1
- Queen b3
- Rook a1
- Rook f1
- Bishop c1
- Bishop g2
- Knight e5
- Pawn a2
- Pawn b2
- Pawn d5
- Pawn f2
- Pawn g3
- Pawn h2
Black
- King g8
- Queen c8
- Rook a8
- Rook f8
- Bishop b7
- Bishop e7
- Knight b8
- Pawn a7
- Pawn b5
- Pawn c5
- Pawn f7
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h7
Step 6 of 6
Nimzowitsch and today
Source
In “The Blockade” Nimzowitsch gives three reasons for blockading a passed pawn. Firstly, against its urge to advance, controlling the square from a distance is not enough; he says jokingly that the passed pawn is such a dangerous criminal that police supervision will not do, he belongs in prison. Secondly, the blockader usually stands well in other respects too: protected against attacks from the front, and mobile. Thirdly, the blockade often freezes the whole of the opponent’s position; in his example, bishop and rook are prisoners in their own camp. The texts are newly written for the course; the positions are Nimzowitsch’s examples from sections III and V and his game against Sämisch, Copenhagen 1923.
- The Blockade, section III (in German) (original text not yet published)
- The Blockade, section V (in German) (original text not yet published)
- The Blockade, game 4: Nimzowitsch – Sämisch (in German) (original text not yet published)
Today’s view (editorial note)
The rule still holds today: the safest way to hold up a passed pawn is a piece directly in front of it. But whether the blockade holds is always checked on the concrete board.