Project approval after AI review on 2 November 2026. Human proofreading is still pending.
Lesson 17
A knight stops the pawn
- What you will learn
- You put a piece directly in front of an enemy pawn to stop it.
- What you should already know
- How the knight moves
- How the pawn moves
- Lesson 16: The pawn with a clear path
Time: about 6 minutes
Thinking questions in this lesson
You can ask yourself these thinking questions in any position. They help you find a good move.
- Which pawn move changes the position?
- Which piece could be better placed?
Step 1 of 6
Look first
The black pawn on d4 wants to move forward. Behind it stands a black rook.
Tap the square the black pawn wants to move to next.
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 h2
- Knight f4
Black
- King h8
- Rook d8
- Pawn d4
Step 2 of 6
Decide
Before you move, compare the plans.
Your knight on f4 already controls d3. Which plan stops the pawn 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.
Position as a list
White
- King h2
- Knight f4
Black
- King h8
- Rook d8
- Pawn d4
Step 3 of 6
Try it
Move your knight to the square directly in front of the black pawn.
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 h2
- Knight f4
Black
- King h8
- Rook d8
- Pawn d4
Step 4 of 6
Why does it work?
After Nd3 your knight stands directly in front of the pawn. A pawn may not move straight forwards onto an occupied square.
The rook cannot attack the knight directly: on the d-file its own pawn is in the way. Going round, it needs at least two moves.
When a piece stops a pawn like this, we call it a blockade.
Key idea
Put a piece directly in front of a dangerous pawn.
When does this apply?
This helps if the piece is safe there. Always check whether your opponent can drive it away or capture it.
Step 5 of 6
New position, same idea
A knight is not the only piece that can blockade.
Now you have a bishop. Stop the black pawn.
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 h2
- Bishop e1
Black
- King g8
- Rook c8
- Pawn c4
Step 6 of 6
Nimzowitsch and today
Source
The idea comes from Nimzowitsch’s treatment of passed pawns in “My System” and in “The Blockade”. Text and positions in this lesson are newly written for the course. They are not a quotation and not a historical game.
Today’s view (editorial note)
Today a blockade is usually checked with concrete moves, often with a computer too. The basic idea still holds, but not every blockade lasts: sometimes the opponent can drive the piece away or remove it with a sacrifice.