Step 9: Advanced Track · about 30 min
Pawn Chains and Passed Pawns
Goal: Kids can find the base of a pawn chain and attack it, and spot and create passed pawns.
You need: Demo board · One board and set per pair
1 · Teach it (20 min)
Read these out loud, or put them in your own words. Show each board on screen or set it up on a demo board.
1.“A pawn chain is a diagonal line of pawns, each one protecting the next. Here White's chain is d4 and e5. The front pawn, e5, is protected by d4. But nothing protects d4 with a pawn. The pawn at the back is called the base.”
2.“The rule: attack a chain at its base. If the base falls, the whole chain is weak. That's why Black plays c5 here, hitting d4.”
3.“Then Black piles up on d4 with pieces: the knight from c6 and the queen from b6.”
4.“A passed pawn has no enemy pawns in front of it or on the files next door. Nothing but pieces can stop it. If you have more pawns on one side of the board, that's a majority, and a majority can make a passed pawn.”
- Attacking the front of the chain, where it's strongest.
- Forgetting to push a passed pawn (passed pawns must be pushed!).
2 · Play it: Chain Breakers (10 min)
Set up: In pairs. Start from the French position (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5).
- Black's job: attack the base of the chain (d4) with pawns and pieces.
- White's job: keep d4 protected.
- Play 10 moves each, then see whether d4 is still standing. Swap colors.
3 · Practice and pass check
On iPads, kids open Student → Step 9 → Pawn Chains. On paper, print the worksheet. A kid passes by getting 2 of 3 on the pass check. The pass code for this lesson is S9-L3-76.
Practice (3) with answers
1.Circle the base of White's pawn chain.
Answer: d4
2.Black: attack the base of White's chain with a pawn. Draw an arrow or write the move.
Move: c5
3.What is a passed pawn?
- ✓A pawn with no enemy pawns in front of it or on the files next to it
- A pawn that has moved past the middle
- A pawn that was just captured
Pass check (3) with answers
1.Black: add another piece to the attack on d4, the base of the chain. Draw an arrow or write the move.
Move: Qb6
2.Circle White's passed pawn.
Answer: d5
3.Where should you attack a pawn chain?
- ✓At its base
- At its front
- Anywhere
Topic order based on: How to Reassess Your Chess, Parts 8–9 (pawn structure). All wording is original.