The Passed Pawn:
Part of the Advanced Beginner's Chess Guide (Section 1)

The Passed Pawn

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• Point Count Chess: Passed Pawn [+];

A Pawn that has no enemy Pawns in front or on adjacent squares is referred to as a Passed Pawn (Diagram 1). Only the enemy Pieces can prevent its march to promotion. The prospect of promotion, for the owner of a Passed Pawn, is what scores the plus point.

While analyzing the board for Passed Pawns, we must distinguish between an Actual and a Potential Passed Pawn.

• In Diagram 1, White's b-pawn is an Actual Passed Pawn, as there's no enemy pawn in front or on adjacent files to possibly capture, thus prevent the pawn advancing towards promotion.


• In contrast, White's c-pawn is a Potential Passed Pawn, as Black's pawn on d5 (being on an adjacent file), could capture White's pawn, wiping out its current potential for promotion. However, while it remains on the board, with no pawn directly blocking its path, then White's c-pawn retains its "Potential" for becoming a Passed Pawn.
  
  It should be noted that Potential Passed Pawns are NOT a countable point, only Actual Passed Pawns. The phrase "don't count your chickens until they've hatched" springs to mind, here!

Referring back to Diagram 1, notice how, if it were Black's turn, then ...dxe4 would give Black, not just a Passed Pawn, but a Protected Passed Pawn, on the e-file.

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