5/21/2023 – Today I’m returning to a subject I’ve covered a number of times in the past: passed pawns. Passed pawns are a crucial aspect of chess and your attitude to them can have a profound effect on how you play and, in particular, your opening choices. To explore this topic, I look at a game played by Vasilios Kotronias, in which he was overwhelmed by an absolute pawn avalanche. The final phase is extraordinary and somewhat reminiscent of the famous game McDonnell versus De La Bourdonnais.
new: ChessBase 18 - Mega package
Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
Winning starts with what you know The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.
Today I’m returning to a subject I’ve covered a number of times in the past: passed pawns. This arose through a game which I happened to see online, in which Greece’s first-ever grandmaster Vasilios Kotronias was overwhelmed by an absolute horde of them. The final phase is extraordinary and somewhat reminiscent of the famous game McDonnell versus De La Bourdonnais.
Passed pawns are a crucial aspect of chess and your attitude to them can have a profound effect on how you play and, in particular, your opening choices. I had a very bad experience more than 50(!) years ago in the Hastings Challengers, and it still makes me rather more nervous of them than I really ought to be. Among other things, I’m loth to play the Grünfeld as Black — which is very appealing, but I’d have to learn of course, and more saliently here, as it does often lead to White having a potentially very powerful but also sometimes weak passed pawn on the d-file.
I’ve included that game and also McDonnell versus La Bourdonnais (though both have appeared here before), and I’m concluding with some tactical positions in which passed pawns play a crucial role. And, finally, Sam Loyd’s famous problem: the Excelsior!
Select an entry from the list to switch between games
This DVD allows you to learn from the example of one of the best players in the history of chess and from the explanations of the authors how to successfully organise your games strategically, and how to keep your opponent permanently under pressure.
Jonathan SpeelmanJonathan Speelman, born in 1956, studied mathematics but became a professional chess player in 1977. He was a member of the English Olympic team from 1980–2006 and three times British Champion. He played twice in Candidates Tournaments, reaching the semi-final in 1989. He twice seconded a World Championship challenger: Nigel Short and then Viswanathan Anand against Garry Kasparov in London 1993 and New York 1995.
Ruy Lopez Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 12092 games from Mega 2025 and the Correspondence Database 2024, of which 1276 are annotated.
In this 60 Minutes, Andrew Martin guides you through all the key ideas you need to know to play with confidence. Whether you’re looking to surprise your opponents, or simply want a straightforward weapon against e5, the Centre Attack has you covered.
Videos by Mihail Marin: Najdorf Variation with 6.f4 and Nico Zwirs: Italian ‘giucco pianissimo’. ‘Lucky bag’ with 45 analyses by Edouard, Ftacnik, Gupta, Pelletier and others. Update service with over 50,000 new games for your database!
This video course provides a comprehensive and practical White repertoire in the Ruy Lopez! Through instructive model games and in-depth theoretical explanations, you will learn how to confidently handle both main lines and sidelines.
Chess Festival Prague 2025 with analyses by Aravindh, Giri, Gurel, Navara and others. ‘Special’: 27 highly entertaining miniatures. Opening videos by Werle, King and Ris. 10 opening articles with new repertoire ideas and much more.
€21.90
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.
Pop-up for detailed settings
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies, analysis cookies and marketing cookies. You can decide which cookies to use by selecting the appropriate options below. Please note that your selection may affect the functionality of the service. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.
Technically required cookies
Technically required cookies: so that you can navigate and use the basic functions and store preferences.
Analysis Cookies
To help us determine how visitors interact with our website to improve the user experience.
Marketing-Cookies
To help us offer and evaluate relevant content and interesting and appropriate advertisement.