en passant
We play with all the rules of chess at our events: touch-move, touch-take, castling king-first and taking en passant.
The last is the hardest to learn!
It’s easier to remember if you remember why it was invented.
Pawns used to move one square at a time.
This meant that a white Pawn could not sneak past a black Pawn, without Black having a chance to take it.
But then the rule was introduced with a double-square move as a Pawn’s first move.
Now if a brave Pawn gets close to the enemy ranks, waiting to take a pawn, an opponent’s Pawn might be able to sneak past it by moving two squares.
A White Pawn on d5 might be hoping to take the Black Pawn on e7. But if it jumps to e5, then the White Pawn will miss out! To give your brave advanced Pawns a chance of taking opponent’s Pawns, there is a special rule invented.
If an opponent’s Pawn tries to dodge past an advanced Pawn on the fifth rank by moving two squares, the advanced Pawn is allowed to pretend that the opponent’s Pawn moved just one square and take it on that square.
Like this (watch)!
So, it is allowed for the black pawn to take a pawn that tries to sneak past it, on its next go (and only on its next go). You pretend it moved only one square, and take it on that square.
That’s taking in passing — en passant.
REMEMBER:
- It’s only for a pawn taking a pawn
- only a reply to a double-square pawn move — taking a pawn that’s trying to sneak past by moving two squares on its first move
- and only allowed on the very next move.