Chess lessons › Chess endgames
Pawn endings with pawns on both wings
An outside passed pawn is a decoy: let the enemy king take it while your king runs to the other wing.
The idea
An outside passed pawn drags the enemy king away from the action.
- The a-pawn is far from the kingside, so it is an outside passed pawn.
- Black’s king takes it, but it ends up on the edge of the board.
- White’s king heads for the pawns on f7 and g7 and wins the race.
In a game: With pawns on both wings, count who reaches the other wing first, and use a passed pawn as a decoy.
How the lesson begins
White has an extra pawn on the a-file, far from the kingside, where each side has two pawns. It is called an outside passed pawn: no black pawn can stop it, and it stands away from the other pawns.
Black’s king on b4 attacks it. White is to move and wins. How? Here the pawn is not meant to be saved.
Find the move
White to move. Two moves win; every other move only draws. Find one of them.
A hint
Do not try to save the pawn. Your king is needed near Black’s pawns.
Show the answer
1. Ke4
Both Ke4 and Kf4 win. White lets Black’s king have the a-pawn and heads for the kingside, where Black’s pawns on f7 and g7 are waiting. The a-pawn has done its job: it pulls the black king to the edge of the board.
In numbers
In the puzzle bank
1,803 puzzles in GreyChess’s bank practise it. Half of them are rated between 1,075 and 2,532.
The piece that makes the first move of the answer: pawn 55%, king 45%, in puzzles from the Lichess puzzle database.