Passed Pawns

A passed pawn can’t be blocked or taken by the opponent’s pawns. Even though pieces like a queen, king, rook, bishop, or knight can still capture or block it, it’s called a passed pawn.

A protected passed pawn is part of a pawn chain, where pawns stand diagonally and protect each other. The first pawn in the chain, called the base pawn, has no protection. In the video, the b-pawn is the base pawn. White’s chain, made of the b- and c-pawn, is called a pawn island. Black has two pawn islands. More pawn islands mean more pawns to attack.