Three pawns against two on the queen side will one day make a passed pawn. Because both kings usually castle on the other wing, that pawn is far from them: an outside passed pawn that decoys the enemy king while your own king eats the pawns it left behind. Learn which pawn leads, when to trade into the ending, and how the decoy wins.
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Three pawns against two on the queen side is not an extra pawn yet, but it will become one. Sooner or later the majority makes a passed pawn, and because both kings usually castle on the other wing, that pawn is far from them. In the ending it pulls the enemy king away while your king takes everything it left behind.
What you will learn
01How to spot a queen side majority and the central majority the opponent gets in return.
02Which pawn leads: the candidate, the one with no enemy pawn in front of it.
03Why an outside passed pawn wins king and pawn endings by decoying the enemy king.
04When to trade pieces, and rooks in particular, to reach that ending.
From majority to passed pawn
The first section shows the structure: white pawns on a2, b2 and c4 against black pawns on a7 and b7, with Black’s extra pawn in the centre. The second shows the move order, b3 to b4 and c4 to c5, with the c-pawn as the candidate. The third is the payoff: a pawn on a4 that drags the black king to the a-file while the white king takes f7, g6 and h5.
The club mistake is to push the wrong pawn first. Lead with the a-pawn and Black answers ...a5 or ...b6, and the majority freezes. The second mistake is to avoid exchanges. A queen side majority is an endgame asset, so trade queens and rooks when the ending you reach is the one where your outside passed pawn decides.
How to practise it
Two quiz positions. In the first you choose whether to keep the rooks or trade into the pawn ending; in the second two pawns face one and you make a passed pawn. One move each, spoken or tapped. This lesson is part of Pro.
A passed pawn far from the other pawns, usually on the a- or h-file. The enemy king must go and stop it, which leaves the rest of its pawns to your king.
Which pawn should lead a pawn majority?
The candidate: the pawn with no enemy pawn on its file. The other pawns support it, so the exchanges leave it free.