The Battle Between A Soldier And A King

Imagine a situation where your pawn has reached the seventh rank, just one square away from fulfilling its dream of becoming a queen. However, none other than the opponent's king steps in front of the pawn, preventing its promotion. Who is going to win: the little soldier or His Majesty the king?

Such a pattern is quite common in chess, and the result of the duel between a pawn and a king depends on whether you are able to kick the king from the promotion square. In most cases, achieving such a goal requires sacrifices. Here is a very simple classical example:

Notice this useful pattern: a pawn on the seventh rank is supported by a rook or a queen from behind and blocked by the opponent's king. You sacrifice a piece to lure the king out of its blockading position and promote your pawn. Now try to solve a very similar puzzle:

The following position could have happened in one of Alexander Alekhine's games:

Of course, no discussion of a tactical pattern is possible without a game played by "the Magician," GM Mikhail Tal:

The following puzzle can confuse you because the same pattern takes an unexpected turn; nevertheless, try to solve it.

Now take a look at the following position. I saw it in many books on tactics since the combination executed by Richard Teichmann is very beautiful.

After seeing so many examples of this pattern, I am sure you'll easily find a move played by GM Anish Giri in a recent tournament.

As you can see, this common pattern is very straightforward, so I am sure you won't miss it next time you encounter it in your games.