The passed pawn on the seventh rank

10/6/2009 – Whenever an opposing passed pawn reaches the seventh rank, the highest level of alarm is appropriate. But if it is possible to neutralise all possible dangers, such a passed pawn can even turn out to be a decisive weakness. In the fourth round of the Pearl Spring Tournament in Nanjing precisely this subject was up for discussion in the game between Jakovenko and Carlsen. (Diagram, White to move). Thanks to some inaccuracies on the part of his opponent, Magnus Carlsen was able to gather in both the opposing passed pawn and the full point. GM Karsten Müller has analysed the endgame Jakovenko-Carlsen for CBM Online.