Hey there! Wanna know my best piece? If you read the title, you would know, it’s a pawn! This is Part 2 of why A Pawn is The Best Chess Piece! A request to read Part 1!
https://www.chess.com/blog/Legend_7112/pawn-is-the-best-piece
Earlier I had explained three reasons why pawns are the best piece:
1. Defending the king in the starting of the game.
2. Defending the position while being attacked.
3. Attacking possibilities and breakthroughs.
Those we’re the major reasons, now let us look at the minor, but important reasons as well.
4. Endgame Breakthroughs.
During endgames, endgame breakthroughs are one of the most important aspects. It is one of the main reasons why top players reign victorious. Pawn breakthroughs are done to create a passed pawn and have a chance to queen in the endgame to win. Here is an example showcasing the same:
As you can see, the pawn on h6 passes through and ready to become a queen and win the game. This is one of the most common examples of breakthroughs.
5. The Ability to push and Stalemate.
Stalemate! It’s a marvellous trick used to draw losing positions. Pawns are a help in stalemating because they can only push forward to some extent. Pawns are also crucial in getting draws in queen pawn endgames by stalemate. Here are some examples showcasing the same.
In this queen - pawn example, the queen could not have taken the pawn because of, you guessed it… Stalemate!
This is an actual example from my game! As you can see, the pawns ability to move only forward helps me to stalemate myself and draw the game from a losing position. Obviously, black could have moved the rook to a better square, preventing checkmate but since it was a bullet game, black blundered and drew the game.
6. Transform into any piece.
Most of us, while promoting a pawn at the end of the board, turn it into a queen. Usually, it is the right decision whereas sometimes it can also be a fatal mistake.
Here are some examples showcasing the same.
i) Promotion to a rook.
In this position, the only good option is to promote the pawn into a rook. If it is promoted to any other piece, the position will simply become a draw in the form of a stalemate or insufficient material.
ii) Promotion to a knight.
In the given position, the only good move for white is to promote the pawn into the knight, if any other move is played, it would be an easy win for black.
iii) Promotion to a bishop.
This beautiful example shows that you sometimes might have to promote to a bishop.
Note: This is my opinion about pawns and not a verified professional's. That's it for today! I hope you enjoyed this blog and I would love to hear your feedback! Feel free to DM me if you have some opinions about this topic!
This is @Legend_7112 signing off!
