I assume you know how to move the pawn, including the en-passant move. If not, go elsewhere for the basics.
Here, you will learn how to unlock the secrets of the pawns.
Capture the Flag
Here is a nice game that can help you. 8 pawns for each player.
You win if you get the first pawn in the last rank.
You also win, if you move last and there is no available move for your opponent, say when all remaining pawns are black.
If you play this simple game tens of times, perhaps 100s of times, you will unlock the mysteries of how pawns move.
There is no way, you won’t find these exercises useful in your endgames.
Here are some specific examples to analyse. Try to answer those questions:
- is there a player with initial advantage if they move first?
- what would the strategy be?
- how are those differ between themselves?
Positions to investigate at your own time, or with a friend
Position 1.1
Position 1.2
Position 1.3 (multiple of position 1)
Position 1.4 (combination of position 1 and 2)
Position 1.5 – what should white do to win?
Position 1.6 – how does this differ from 1.5? what should white do now to win?
If you analyse all those positions and you play the game more than 100 times with your friends you will definitely improve your chess skills, especially at endgames!
Comment if you have any ideas on a given position, or need some help!