Placing a piece (ideally a knight) directly in front of an enemy passed pawn to physically freeze it.
Why it matters
A passed pawn is stopped by standing in front of it, not by attacking it. The square directly ahead is the only square a pawn cannot fight for, which makes it the safest place on the board for a defending piece.
A knight is the ideal blockader. It loses nothing by sitting still, it is not blocked by the pawn it is holding, and from that square it usually attacks something else as well.
See it on a board
The black pawn on d4 is passed and completely harmless: the knight on d3 stands where no pawn can attack it, and the pawn cannot move.
Checked: the position really has the feature described.
How to play it
- Identify the square directly in front of the enemy passed pawn.
- Get a piece there — knight first, bishop or king in an endgame.
- Once the pawn is frozen, play elsewhere: the pawn is not going anywhere, and the pieces defending it are stuck too.
At each level
The same idea, said the way it is taught at each age.
Knight · ages 4–6
To stop a passed pawn, stand right in front of it. A pawn cannot capture the piece directly ahead of it.
Queen · ages 8–11
Blockade before you attack. A pawn that is stopped can be attacked at leisure; a pawn that is only attacked can often run.
What goes wrong
- Attacking the pawn from the side while it advances anyway.
- Blockading with a rook, which is a terrible blockader: it stands badly and is chased by any minor piece.
Questions people ask
- Which piece is the best blockader?
- A knight, then a bishop, then the king in an endgame. The queen and rook are the worst, because they are too valuable to sit still and too easy to chase away.