FoxyChess › Tactics › Promotion
Promotion
Push a pawn to the last rank to turn it into a queen (or another piece). These puzzles use tactics to clear the way or stop the pawn being caught.
How to spot it
Count the moves: can your pawn reach the last rank before it is caught? Look for breakthroughs, where several pawns against several pawns can force one through, and for sacrifices that deflect the piece guarding the queening square.
A worked example
The classic breakthrough. 1.b6! axb6 (1…cxb6 2.a6! bxa6 3.c6 and the c-pawn queens) 2.c6! bxc6 3.a6 and nothing can stop the a-pawn.
Why it works
A new queen is worth more than any combination. Far advanced pawns tie down enemy pieces, and in an endgame a single passed pawn that can't be stopped decides the game on its own.
How to defend against it
Keep your king near the enemy's passed pawns and your rook behind them. Against several connected pawns, don't let them advance side by side: a breakthrough needs them to be level.
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