Push that passed pawn.

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A pawn can become a powerful queen if it can make it to the 8th rank.

Wikipedia - Passed pawn

In chess, a passed pawn is a pawn with no opposing pawns to prevent it from advancing to the eighth rank; i.e. there are no opposing pawns in front of it on either the same file or adjacent files. Passed pawns can be an advantage because only the opponent's pieces can stop them from promoting.

A passed pawn that is protected by its own pawns is called a protected passed pawn. In the first diagram in this article, the pawns on the b- and e-files are protected passed pawns. Two or more passed pawns on adjacent files are called connected passed pawns (see connected pawns), and they are very strong. In the diagram at the top, White's b- and c-pawns are connected passed pawns. A pair of connected passed pawns is sometimes called a steamroller. It is often strategically advantageous for the side with connected passed pawns to place them on the same rank and then advance them in tandem, because this makes them more difficult to blockade.

Sometimes, minor pieces are sacrificed so that a pawn can have a clear path to promotion on the eighth rank. In the example illustrated (Mikhail Botvinnik–José Capablanca, AVRO 1938), in order to capitalize on the passed pawn on e6 and break its blockade by Black's queen, White continued 30. Ba3! Qxa3 31. Nh5+! gxh5 32. Qg5+ Kf8 33. Qxf6+ guaranteeing the e-pawn's promotion. The passed pawn's value is well worth the sacrifice of the bishop in order to clear its path to promotion. The only pieces preventing the e-pawn's promotion are the black queen and knight, and once they are gone, the pawn has a free path to promote. Black's pawns are also helpless to stop it.

An outside passed pawn is a passed pawn that is on or near the left or right edge of the board, and is separated by a number of files from the rest of the pawns. Such a pawn often constitutes a strong advantage for its owner because the opposing king does not have the range to cover both sides of the board.

Passed pawns are particularly important, often of decisive significance, in the endgame. The position illustrated provides a dramatic example of this. White has no passed pawns and seems to be in desperate straits, since Black's king will soon attack White's pawns with ...Kg4. In fact, White by means of a sacrificial combination creates a passed pawn and wins: 1. g6! fxg6 (or 1...hxg6 2.f6! gxf6 3.h6!) 2. h6! gxh6 3. f6! and White's newly created passed pawn will queen. If it is Black's move, he must avoid this combination by playing 1... g6! (not 1...f6 2.h6!, nor 1...h6 2.f6!).

Since passed pawns have no opposing pawns to stop them, the threat of queening often forces the opponent to use a piece to block or capture the pawn, wasting valuable time and immobilizing material or possibly even losing it (as when a defender of the blocking piece is forced to move). Indeed, the value of a far-advanced passed pawn or pawn group is often equal to or even greater than that of a piece. Four examples of this are seen in the subdivided diagram. In the upper-left quadrant of the board, White's connected passed pawns on the sixth rank are superior to Black's rook. Even if on move, Black cannot stop one of White's pawns from queening. Similarly, in the upper-right quadrant, Black's bishop cannot hold back both of White's pawns. White queens a pawn after 1. f7 (1.h7 also works) Bxf7 2. h7 followed by 3. h8=Q. In the lower-left quadrant, White's queen cannot stop Black's pawn from queening without stalemating Black. The lower-right quadrant highlights how awkward a knight is in dealing with a passed pawn, especially a rook pawn. White's knight is actually worse than useless in trying to stop Black's pawn. It cannot do so itself, and if White's king (which could catch the pawn if the knight were not there) approaches with 1. Kf2 (hoping for 1...hxg2? 2.Kxg2), Black plays 1... h2! and 2... h1=Q.

"A passed pawn is a criminal which should be kept under lock and key. Mild measures, such as police surveillance, are not sufficient." – Aron Nimzowitsch

"Passed pawns must be pushed!" – (unknown)

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This is one of my favorite quotes about chess:

"Winning or losing is not the main idea of chess at all. A chess game is in fact a friendly exchange of intentions, hidden in individual moves. You always have the choice either of putting into action your planned move, or of first calmly preventing the intended move of the friend with whom you are playing chess in this brief, finite moment of your life."

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This quote about the importance of studying the endgame:

"In order to improve your game, you must study the endgame before anything else; for, whereas the endings can be studied and mastered by themselves, the middlegame and the opening must be studied in relation to the endgame." (Capablanca 1966)

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Wikipedia - José Raúl Capablanca

José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he is considered by many as one of the greatest players of all time, widely renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play.