Hello, Dear chess friends!
We have come to the last chapter about the importance of pawns in endgames. In the previous issues, we discussed pawn races with passed pawns, breakthrough, „electric pawns“ and the rule of the common square. In this issue, we will delve into intriguing endgames with connected passed pawns. What is the main difference between connected passed pawns and other pawn configurations? Well, unlike single passed pawns, doubled pawns, electric pawns etc., connected pawns can directly defend each other. This becomes very important in endgames as the reduced number of pieces on the board makes it more difficult to defend pawns when they are attacked. Let's see the simplest example of this in the pawn endgame:
Besides being „self-sufficient“, connected passed pawns can be very dangerous if they are unleashed. They should not be underestimated, especially if they have crossed the „equator“ of the chess board, like in the next example:
How does one deal with such a potentially menacing threat like the connected passed pawns? More often than not allowing your opponent to promote a pawn to queen leads to an unwanted outcome. There are several useful strategies to fight against connected passed pawns. First and foremost, restricting their movement, as in attacking, blocking or immobilizing them is the best remedy, which, if successfully done, could also lead to a defeat for the side with passed pawns. However, sometimes this is not possible, so it is necessary to destroy the passed pawns by sacrificing a piece, which is, of course, a material concession and is usually sufficient for a draw only. Going for counterplay on the other side of the board can be a good countermeasure, following the good-old „attack is the best defense“ doctrine. In such positions, all hell breaks loose and usually all three results are possible.
In general, a single piece has challenges in stopping 3 or more connected passed pawns; the knight being the least successful one but stopping 2 connected pawns is possible if they are not advanced too far. Before we look at some of the more exciting endgames with connected passed pawns, I suggest the reader to get acquainted (or refresh their memory) with typical defensive and offensive techniques in theoretical endgame positions with connected passed pawns. Let's start with light pieces. In the first two examples knight and king (un)successfully deal with a trio of connected passed pawns!
This theoretical position holds an important practical lesson. Once all connected pawns cross the middle of the board, black wins. Black to move can force this scenario and is therefore winning. However, white to move can stop one of the Black's pawns from stepping into his territory and achieve a draw. But first, let's see how black wins:
Now let's see what happens if it's White to move:
And how does the bishop fare with connected passers? It turns out that as a long-range piece it is more effective than the knight at stopping them. Therefore, bishop vs. 2 pawns endgames in general lead to a draw if the defending king is close enough, such as in the Henneberger study, which also has important practical implications.
The bishop and king can usually also deal with 3 connected pawns, but naturally, more precision is required. Take Averbakh's theoretical position from 1970:
Finally, let's look at rook vs. connected pawns. A famous rule of thumb goes like this: „If both passed pawns have reached the sixth (for black third) rank, the rook is defenseless and one of the pawns will promote to a queen. However, if one of the pawns is still at the fifth (for black fourth) rank, the rook can immobilize the connected pawns by attacking the more advanced pawn.“ The following examples illustrate this rule very well: