White is a pawn short - three against four. And yet, with the move, White wins: the exact breakthrough 1.c6! creates two passers at a stroke. Any other move lets the win slip into a draw.
Only 1.c6! At the branch, pick any defence for Black.
White has three pawns on a5, c5 and d5 against four black on b7, c7, d7 and e7 - White is a pawn down! And yet the exact breakthrough 1.c6! wins. Any other move (1.d6?, 1.a6?) is only a draw.
The walkthrough has not started yet.
At the branches several defences are available - take any of them. «Back» returns one move, «Main line» plays the principal variation automatically.
White has fewer pawns - three against four - but they are further advanced and White moves first. The blow 1.c6! wedges in and attacks b7 and d7. After 1...dxc6 2.dxc6 two connected passers appear on the board: the c-pawn and the a-pawn.
Black cannot hold two passers on opposite edges: while dealing with one, the other goes through. The opponent's extra pawn is left out of the game.
Only 1.c6! wins. Against 1.d6? comes ...cxd6, and against 1.a6? ...bxa6: Black simply trades pawns off and has time to organise a defence. No passer appears in time - a draw.
So it is not the advance itself that counts but the exact blow: the position has to be opened with precisely c5-c6.
Two pawns can take on c6. Against 1...dxc6, 2.dxc6 decides, followed by a6-a7-a8=Q - the second passer cannot be stopped. Against 1...bxc6 the edge pawn goes through: 2.a6! and a7-a8=Q.
Declining the capture loses even faster: against 1...e6? comes 2.cxd7, and White queens as early as move three.
Learn these set-ups - in them the breakthrough is already settled.
After 1.c6 dxc6 2.dxc6 White has passers on the a- and c-files against scattered black pawns - the material deficit no longer matters.
What to avoid, so the breakthrough does not turn into a draw.
Only 1.c6! wins. After 1.d6? cxd6 or 1.a6? bxa6, Black trades pawns off and holds the defence - a draw. The blow has to go through c6.
The starting position is already loaded - move the pawns yourself or paste your own FEN.
Drag a piece onto the board, or click a piece and then click the squares. The cross beside the pieces sweeps every piece of that colour off the board, and a single piece can be dragged off the edge.
The pieces will be arranged into the chosen pattern.
It is the mating side to move. Find mate in one.
Openings, endgame positions and breakthrough studies - the set-up appears on the board.
With the exact breakthrough 1.c6! After 1...dxc6 2.dxc6 White gets two passers (on a and c) against scattered black pawns, and one of them queens. The breakthrough compensates for the material deficit.
Black trades those blows off (1.d6? cxd6, 1.a6? bxa6) and has time to organise a defence - a draw. Only 1.c6! creates a passer in time.
It does not pay: after 1...e6? 2.cxd7 one of the white pawns queens as early as move three.
Yes, and White carries it out with fewer pawns - three against four. There is more on the technique in VC0001 (4 v 4) and VC0003 (3 v 3).
Pairings are computed by bbpPairings, an open-source engine implementing the Dutch system by FIDE rules: score groups, floats on an odd field, colour alternation. Free to use.
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Work through the other pawn studies in the VC series on the board - breakthroughs, races and overtakes.
Build your own position in the board editor, play through the chess openings move by move, or look into endgame walkthroughs such as king and pawn. If you are only starting out, read the rules of chess and how to set the pieces up.
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