Project approval after AI review on 2 November 2026. Human proofreading is still pending.
Lesson 31
The candidate goes first
- What you will learn
- In a pawn majority you find the pawn that becomes a passed pawn most easily, and you advance it first.
- What you should already know
- What a passed pawn is
- Lesson 16: The pawn with a clear path
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.
- Which pawn move changes the position?
- What is the threat?
Step 1 of 6
Look first
A position from “The Blockade”. If you have more pawns on one wing than your opponent, that is called a pawn majority.
You are playing White. On the kingside you have three pawns, Black only two. Tap the pawn that can become a passed pawn most easily there.
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 c3
- Pawn b3
- Pawn f2
- Pawn g2
- Pawn h2
Black
- King b5
- Pawn c5
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h7
Step 2 of 6
Decide
A healthy majority can produce a passed pawn. But it matters which pawn goes first.
You are playing White and want to create a passed pawn on the kingside. Which pawn do you start with?
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 c3
- Pawn b3
- Pawn f2
- Pawn g2
- Pawn h2
Black
- King b5
- Pawn c5
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h7
Step 3 of 6
Try it
Now the black pawns stand on g6 and h5. Your f-pawn has already advanced.
You are playing White. Which pawn move takes your majority further forward?
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 c3
- Pawn b3
- Pawn f4
- Pawn g2
- Pawn h2
Black
- King c6
- Pawn c5
- Pawn g6
- Pawn h5
Step 4 of 6
Why does it work?
Nimzowitsch calls the pawn with no opponent on its file the candidate. It becomes a passed pawn most easily. So the rule is: the candidate goes first, and the other pawns are its companions.
The companions also move in a sensible order. If the wrong pawn moves first, your opponent can stop the majority with a single pawn move.
Whoever defends against a majority does the opposite: they hold back the candidate and lure the companions forward. If the candidate stays behind, the defender can blockade it.
Key idea
In a pawn majority the candidate advances first: the pawn with no enemy pawn in front of it on its file.
When does this apply?
If the square in front of the candidate is controlled, a companion first prepares its advance. Where the kings stand also counts on the actual board.
Step 5 of 6
New position, same idea
A game by Nimzowitsch from 1923, which he shows in “The Blockade”. He has White; Tartakower has Black and the majority on the queenside.
You are playing Black. On the queenside you have two pawns against one. Which pawn move helps your candidate?
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
- Rook b1
- Rook d1
- Bishop f3
- Knight c2
- Pawn a2
- Pawn d5
- Pawn f2
- Pawn g2
- Pawn h3
Black
- King g8
- Rook b8
- Rook d8
- Bishop e5
- Knight e7
- Pawn a6
- Pawn b5
- Pawn f6
- Pawn f7
- Pawn h7
Step 6 of 6
Nimzowitsch and today
Source
In “The Blockade” Nimzowitsch introduces the pawn majority. He jokingly calls the pawn with no opponent on its file “Mr Candidate” (our translation), and his rule reads (our translation): “The candidate goes first.” Weaker players, he writes, often move the middle pawn first; then g7–g5 follows, and the majority is worthless. Whoever defends against a majority should, the other way round, hold back the candidate. The same rule, with an almost identical example and the variation with g6 and h5, also appears in “My System”, section 4.1. The texts are newly written for the course; the positions are Nimzowitsch’s example from section VI, his variation with the pawns on g6 and h5, and his game against Tartakower, Copenhagen 1923.
- The Blockade, section VI (in German) (original text not yet published)
- The Blockade, section VII: Nimzowitsch – Tartakower (in German) (original text not yet published)
- My System, 4.1 (in German): “Zur Orientierung”
Today’s view (editorial note)
The rule of the candidate is still a good guide today, especially in the endgame. But where the kings stand and which squares are controlled is always checked on the actual board.