Three white pawns against three black, but they stand on different files and never touch. There is nothing to capture and nothing to break through - this is a pure race, decided by the count of tempi: who queens first. The board shows why Black wins even without the move.
The pawns do not touch - so count the tempi. Choose which pawn to run with: any of them wins.
The pawns stand on different files and never touch - this is a pure race. Count the tempi: Black needs 2 moves to queen, White 3, and it is Black to move. Choose which pawn to run with - any of them wins.
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 already played 1.b6, but the count has not changed - Black still queens first.
Suppose White went first with 1.b6. It is Black to move again - and the count has not changed: Black needs 2 moves to queen, White also 2, but it is Black's turn. Black still gets there first.
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.
When the two sides' pawns stand on different files and cannot capture each other, the pawn ending turns into a pure race: each side simply runs a pawn through to queen. Here White's pawns are on b5, d5 and f5 and Black's on a3, c3 and e3; they pass each other as though in a corridor, and none gets in another's way.
Since neither exchanges nor a breakthrough are possible, only one thing decides the outcome: who queens first. And for that you need to be able to count tempi.
A tempo is one move. To work out who wins the race, count for each pawn how many moves it needs to reach the queening square, and allow for whose turn it is. A black pawn on the third rank needs 2 moves to reach the first. A white pawn on the fifth needs 3 to reach the eighth. Black is a whole tempo closer.
So Black queens first whoever is to move. With Black to move it is obvious (1...a2 and 2...a1=Q). But even when White goes first - 1.b6 a2 2.b7 a1=Q - Black still queens a move earlier. A single tempo settles everything here.
Whoever queens first gets a queen while the opponent's pawns are still far from promotion. A lone queen stops three split pawns easily when they still have a long way to go to the eighth (or first) rank.
The conclusion is simple: in a race, do not count pawns or judge which side looks more threatening - count the moves to promotion. Whoever is closer, and whose turn it is, wins.
Learn these set-ups - in them the breakthrough is already settled.
White to move, but too late: 1.b6 a2 2.b7 a1=Q - Black queens first, being a tempo closer to the promotion square.
Black's queen is already on the board while the white pawn has only reached b7. The new queen holds the split white pawns easily.
What to avoid, so the breakthrough does not turn into a draw.
The white pawns look more threatening - they are already on the fifth rank. In a race that is an optical illusion: what counts is the number of moves to promotion. Black needs 2 moves from the third rank, White 3 from the fifth. Black is closer and wins.
If both sides need the same number of moves to queen, whoever is to move wins. Here Black is both closer and on move - so the queen arrives a whole tempo early.
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.
Black. The pawns are a tempo closer to promotion (2 moves against White's 3), so Black queens first - and with White to move the result is the same.
Appearances deceive: in a race what matters is not which rank a pawn stands on but how many moves it needs to promote. Black needs 2 moves from the third rank, White 3 from the fifth. Black is closer.
Count for each pawn the number of moves to the queening square, allow for whose turn it is, and compare who queens sooner. If the pawns do not touch, exchanges and breakthroughs are impossible - only that count decides.
Here the pawns stand on different files and never meet - there is nothing to capture and nothing to sacrifice, so it is a pure race. When the pawns do touch, exchanges and sacrifices appear - that is a pawn breakthrough (VC0001, 4 pawns against 4).
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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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