The right piece stops the pawn

Step 1 of 6

Look first

Several white pieces can put themselves in front of the pawn.

The black pawn on d4 wants to move to d3. Tap a white piece that can move to d3 in one move.

Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space marks a square or removes the mark.

87654321

abcdefgh

Which piece should the pawn become?

Queen Rook Bishop Knight

Cancel

Choose a square from a list

Square a8, emptyb8, emptyc8, emptyd8, emptye8, emptyf8, emptyg8, black kingh8, emptya7, emptyb7, emptyc7, emptyd7, emptye7, emptyf7, black pawng7, black pawnh7, emptya6, emptyb6, emptyc6, emptyd6, emptye6, emptyf6, emptyg6, emptyh6, black pawna5, emptyb5, black bishopc5, black pawnd5, emptye5, emptyf5, emptyg5, emptyh5, emptya4, emptyb4, emptyc4, emptyd4, black pawne4, emptyf4, white knightg4, emptyh4, emptya3, emptyb3, emptyc3, emptyd3, emptye3, emptyf3, emptyg3, emptyh3, emptya2, emptyb2, emptyc2, white bishopd2, emptye2, emptyf2, white pawng2, white pawnh2, white pawna1, emptyb1, emptyc1, emptyd1, white queene1, emptyf1, emptyg1, white kingh1, empty Mark or unmark

Position as a list

White

• King g1
• Queen d1
• Bishop c2
• Knight f4
• Pawn f2
• Pawn g2
• Pawn h2

Black

• King g8
• Bishop b5
• Pawn c5
• Pawn d4
• Pawn f7
• Pawn g7
• Pawn h6

Step 2 of 6

Decide

Ask yourself: what is the threat if a piece stands on d3?

Which piece should stop the pawn on d4?

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.

87654321

abcdefgh

Which piece should the pawn become?

Queen Rook Bishop Knight

Cancel

Position as a list

White

• King g1
• Queen d1
• Bishop c2
• Knight f4
• Pawn f2
• Pawn g2
• Pawn h2

Black

• King g8
• Bishop b5
• Pawn c5
• Pawn d4
• Pawn f7
• Pawn g7
• Pawn h6

Which plan fits?

Put the knight on d3 Put the bishop on d3 Put the queen on d3

Step 3 of 6

Try it

Stop the black pawn with the right piece.

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.

87654321

abcdefgh

Which piece should the pawn become?

Queen Rook Bishop Knight

Cancel

Choose a move from a list

Move Nd5 – knight from f4 to d5Ne6 – knight from f4 to e6Ng6 – knight from f4 to g6Nh5 – knight from f4 to h5Nh3 – knight from f4 to h3Ne2 – knight from f4 to e2Nd3 – knight from f4 to d3Bb3 – bishop from c2 to b3Ba4 – bishop from c2 to a4Bd3 – bishop from c2 to d3Be4 – bishop from c2 to e4Bf5 – bishop from c2 to f5Bg6 – bishop from c2 to g6Bh7+ – bishop from c2 to h7Bb1 – bishop from c2 to b1f3 – pawn from f2 to f3g3 – pawn from g2 to g3g4 – pawn from g2 to g4h3 – pawn from h2 to h3h4 – pawn from h2 to h4Qd2 – queen from d1 to d2Qd3 – queen from d1 to d3Qxd4 – queen from d1 captures on d4Qe2 – queen from d1 to e2Qf3 – queen from d1 to f3Qg4 – queen from d1 to g4Qh5 – queen from d1 to h5Qe1 – queen from d1 to e1Qf1 – queen from d1 to f1Qc1 – queen from d1 to c1Qb1 – queen from d1 to b1Qa1 – queen from d1 to a1Kh1 – king from g1 to h1 Play move

Position as a list

White

• King g1
• Queen d1
• Bishop c2
• Knight f4
• Pawn f2
• Pawn g2
• Pawn h2

Black

• King g8
• Bishop b5
• Pawn c5
• Pawn d4
• Pawn f7
• Pawn g7
• Pawn h6

Step 4 of 6

Why does it work?

The bishop on b5 controls the square d3. It could capture a queen there at once.

After Nd3 Black can play Bxd3. With Qxd3 or Bxd3 White keeps blockading. Both sides lose a minor piece; a queen on d3, by contrast, would cost more material in the exchange.

Step 5 of 6

New position, same idea

Here too, more than one piece is possible.

You are playing Black. Stop the white passed pawn with the right piece.

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.

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hgfedcba

Which piece should the pawn become?

Queen Rook Bishop Knight

Cancel

Choose a move from a list

Move Bd7 – bishop from c8 to d7Be6 – bishop from c8 to e6Bf5 – bishop from c8 to f5Bg4 – bishop from c8 to g4Bh3 – bishop from c8 to h3Bb7 – bishop from c8 to b7Ba6 – bishop from c8 to a6Qd8 – queen from e7 to d8Qe8 – queen from e7 to e8Qf8 – queen from e7 to f8Qf7 – queen from e7 to f7Qf6 – queen from e7 to f6Qg5 – queen from e7 to g5Qh4 – queen from e7 to h4Qe6 – queen from e7 to e6Qxe5 – queen from e7 captures on e5Qd6 – queen from e7 to d6Qc5+ – queen from e7 to c5Qb4 – queen from e7 to b4Qa3 – queen from e7 to a3Qd7 – queen from e7 to d7Qc7 – queen from e7 to c7Qb7 – queen from e7 to b7Qa7+ – queen from e7 to a7g6 – pawn from g7 to g6g5 – pawn from g7 to g5h6 – pawn from h7 to h6h5 – pawn from h7 to h5 Play move

Position as a list

White

• King g1
• Bishop c4
• Pawn b3
• Pawn e5
• Pawn f4
• Pawn g3
• Pawn h2

Black

• King h8
• Queen e7
• Bishop c8
• Pawn g7
• Pawn h7

Step 6 of 6

Nimzowitsch and today

Aaron Nimzowitsch: looking at the board differently