A pawn majority is having more pawns than the opponent on one side of the board, such as three against two on the queenside. Advanced correctly, it produces a passed pawn.
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A majority is how passed pawns are made in the endgame. Often each side has one, on opposite wings, and the game becomes a race: whose passed pawn comes first, and whose king is closer to stop the other.
How to do it
- 1Push the candidate first: the pawn with no enemy pawn in front of it.
- 2Advance the others behind it so they defend each other.
- 3Avoid trades that remove your extra pawn.
For your level
Count both majorities before trading into an endgame. A queenside majority is often worth more, because both kings usually stand on the kingside.
Common mistakes
- Pushing the pawn that faces an enemy pawn first, which blocks the majority.
- Trading into an endgame where the opponent's majority is faster than yours.
Questions
- Why is a queenside majority often an advantage?
- Both sides usually castle kingside, so a passed pawn made on the queenside is far from both kings. The defending king must leave its other pawns to stop it.