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8. En Passant

Learn the special pawn capture that catches an advancing pawn "in passing."

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Introduction

En passant (French for "in passing") is a special pawn capture. It prevents a pawn from using its two-square first move to sneak past an enemy pawn. It's the most surprising rule in chess!

Lesson Content

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En passant can happen when a pawn advances two squares from its starting position and lands beside an enemy pawn. The enemy pawn can capture it as if it had only moved one square.

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Here, White just played e2-e4 (two squares). Black's pawn on f4 can capture "en passant" by moving to e3—the square the white pawn passed through. The white pawn on e4 is removed.

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2. fxe3

Capture en passant! Move the f4 pawn to e3.

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Now let's try from White's side. Black has a pawn on f7 and White has a pawn on e5.

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3. exf6

Capture en passant with the white pawn!

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Important: en passant must be played immediately on the very next move, or the right is lost forever. You can't save it for later!

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When can you capture en passant?

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When capturing en passant, where does the capturing pawn land?

Key Takeaways

  • En passant captures a pawn that just advanced two squares
  • The capturing pawn moves to the skipped square
  • It must be done immediately on the very next move
  • Both White and Black can capture en passant
  • It's the only capture where the capturing piece doesn't land on the captured piece's square

Summary

En passant is a special pawn capture that prevents pawns from sneaking past each other. Remember—you must use it immediately or lose the chance!

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