attack · recognise → explain → apply

Protect a passer while attacking its blockader

A passed pawn is useful but an enemy piece can settle in front of it.

Explanation styleChoose any style. Age is not playing strength; no birth date is needed.

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Peter Leko – Magnus Carlsen

Morelia/Linares · 2007.03.10 · 1-0

23... Ne6 · White to move

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What to notice at 23... Ne6

Leko’s 24.d5 created an advanced central passer; Carlsen answered ...Nd4. The later manoeuvres show why the supporting pieces and blockading square must be studied together.

A legally replayed historical example, not a claim that every move is best. A game’s result does not prove every defensive position was lost or drawn.

Game source ↗

Your thinking first

Name the signal, choose a plan, and test the opponent’s most challenging response.

What do you notice?What is your plan, and why?How could the opponent resist?

Recall and explain

1. A passed pawn is useful but an enemy piece can settle in front of it. How would you apply “protect a passer while attacking its blockader”, and which defensive reply must you check?

Explain it in your own words before revealing.

Make it memorable

Attack the stopper before pushing the runner.

Teach this to a friend in one minute. Then return to a different example and look for the same signal without being told its name.

Reflect and revisit

This is your self-assessment, not an engine grade or a promise of mastery.

Connect the ideas

Practise pawn transformations →

Sources and further reading

Original LumaChess teaching and game analysis. Topic references are credited below; no affiliation or endorsement is implied.