ChessEn passant is the rule a lot of people learn last: an enemy pawn jumps two squares and lands right next to your pawn, and you can capture it diagonally as if it had moved only one. The first time it happens in a game, many players think the computer made a mistake. This page clears it up, and when you're done you can try it yourself in free online chess.
What is en passant?
On its first move a pawn can go one square or jump two. If it jumps two and lands right beside an enemy pawn, that enemy pawn can capture it on the very next move, as though it had only moved one square:
Notice two things:
- After the capture, the white pawn stands on d6 (the square the black pawn "passed"), not on d5.
- The captured black pawn was on d5, not on the square where the white pawn lands. It's the only move in chess where the captured piece isn't on the square you move to.
Black can capture en passant too. It just works in the other direction:
The three conditions
To capture en passant, all three of these must be true:
- Your pawn is on its fifth rank: rank 5 for a white pawn, rank 4 for a black pawn. In other words, your pawn has already moved three squares forward.
- The enemy pawn has just jumped two squares and landed directly to the left or right of your pawn. Moving one square to the same spot doesn't count, because it didn't "pass" the square you could have taken it on.
- You can only capture on the very next move: once your opponent makes the two-square move, you have to take right away. If you play something else first, the chance is gone for good.
Like any other move, en passant can't leave your own king in check. In this site's how-to-play guide, you'll see that when en passant is possible, the square is highlighted just like any other move.
Why does this rule exist?
Long ago, pawns could only move one square at a time. Sometime between the 13th and 16th centuries, to speed the game up, players in many places began letting a pawn move two squares on its first move.
That created a problem: by moving two squares, a pawn could sneak past an enemy pawn and skip right over the square where it would have been captured. En passant plugs that hole: you can slip past, but your opponent still gets one chance to take you. One story says some parts of Italy didn't fully accept the rule until the late 19th century.
When should you take?
Being able to capture en passant doesn't mean you have to. Like any capture, it depends on the position:
- Take it: if the enemy pawn moved two squares to become a passed pawn or to settle in the center, taking is usually better.
- You can leave it: if taking opens a line for your opponent's rook or bishop, or your pawn is more useful where it stands, you don't have to.
Look again at 1. e4 e6 2. e5 d5 3. exd6: White's pawn rushed to e5 early, and Black pushed d5 to hold the center. White can take en passant and open the center, or leave it and let the e5 pawn keep cramping Black's knight and bishop. Both ideas make sense. It depends on whether you like open or closed positions.
Puzzle: mate by en passant
Sometimes en passant opens two lines at once, and can even give checkmate:
Show answer
1. bxc6# The white pawn captures en passant, moving diagonally from b5 to c6 and removing the black pawn on c5. With b5 and c5 both empty, the rook on a5 checks the black king on e5. Every square the king could run to is covered by a white pawn, the knight or the bishop. Checkmate.
Frequently asked questions
Can I capture en passant a move later?
No. After the enemy pawn makes its two-square move, you can only take on the very next move. If you play something else first, the chance is gone, and the two pawns simply stand side by side from then on.
Can only pawns capture en passant?
Yes. Only a pawn can capture this way, and only a pawn that has just moved two squares can be captured. Knights, bishops, rooks and queens can't capture en passant, and can't be captured that way either.
Is en passant forced?
Usually not. You can choose not to take. The one exception: if en passant is your only legal move (for example, it's the only way out of check), then you have to play it.
Try it yourself
Go play chess online against the computer and look for a chance to capture en passant. For another special move, read about castling. Promotion, when a pawn reaches the last rank, is explained with diagrams in the how-to-play guide.