Rules & Basics
En Passant Explained: Chess's Most Confusing Pawn Rule
En passant lets you capture a pawn that just moved two squares, as if it only moved one. Here's exactly how it works and when you can use it.
En passant is the one chess rule that catches nearly every beginner off guard the first time their opponent uses it. It lets a pawn capture another pawn that has just moved two squares forward, taking it as though it had only moved one square. The name is French for "in passing," which describes what happens: you capture a pawn that passed through the square where you could have taken it.
The rule exists because of another pawn rule you already know: a pawn on its starting rank can move two squares forward on its first move. En passant was added to chess in the 15th century specifically to prevent players from using that two-square advance to dodge capture. Without it, a pawn could slip past your pawn's attack range entirely just by jumping over it.
The Setup: When En Passant Is Possible
En passant can only happen under a very specific combination of circumstances. All three conditions must be true at the same time.
Condition 1: Your pawn must be on the fifth rank. If you're playing White, that's rank 5 (the e5-square, d5-square, etc.). If you're playing Black, it's rank 4.
Condition 2: Your opponent's pawn must be on an adjacent file and must have just moved two squares in a single move, landing right beside your pawn.
Condition 3: You must capture on the very next move. En passant is a now-or-never rule. If you play any other move first, the right to capture en passant disappears permanently for that pawn.
Here is a concrete example. Say you are White. Your pawn is on e5. Your opponent plays d7-d5, landing their pawn on d5, right next to yours. You can now play exd6, capturing the pawn on d5 and moving your pawn to d6, the square it passed through. The captured pawn is removed from d5 even though your pawn lands on d6.
How to Execute the Capture
The physical move looks a little odd until you understand it. Your pawn moves diagonally forward one square onto the empty square behind the captured pawn. The pawn you captured is removed from the board even though your pawn didn't land on its square.
Using standard algebraic notation:
- If your White pawn on e5 captures a Black pawn that just moved from d7 to d5, the move is written
exd6. - The "e" is the file your pawn came from. The "x" means a capture. The "d6" is where your pawn lands, not where the captured pawn was.
This trips up a lot of beginners reading game scores. The captured pawn was on d5, but the notation says d6. Once you understand why (your pawn lands on the square the enemy pawn passed through), it makes sense.
A Full Game Example
Consider this short sequence:
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.c4 d5
After Black plays 4...d5, the pawn lands on d5 next to White's pawn on c4. White could play 5.cxd5 (a normal capture) or, if the position called for it and White had a pawn on d5, could use en passant. More commonly, en passant comes up in the opening when one side tries to use a two-square pawn advance to bypass a defended pawn:
1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 d5 5.e5 d4 6.Ne2 f5 7.exf6
The move 7.exf6 is en passant. White's pawn on e5 captures Black's pawn that just advanced from f7 to f5, and White's pawn lands on f6.
Quick-Reference Checklist
Use this before you try an en passant capture to make sure it's legal:
| Check | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Your pawn's rank | Must be on rank 5 (White) or rank 4 (Black) |
| Enemy pawn just moved | Must have moved two squares on THIS turn |
| Adjacent file | Enemy pawn must be directly beside yours |
| Capturing now | You lose the right if you play any other move first |
| Your pawn lands | On the square the enemy pawn skipped over (one rank behind it) |
| Enemy pawn removed | From the square it landed on, not where your pawn ends up |
Why Beginners Get Caught Out
The confusion usually comes from two sources.
First, the captured pawn doesn't sit on the square where your pawn lands. Every other capture in chess places the capturing piece on the square the captured piece occupied. En passant is the single exception. Your pawn ends up one rank ahead of where the captured pawn was.
Second, many new players simply don't know the rule and feel it's unfair when an opponent uses it. If you've been playing without en passant, your opponent isn't cheating. It's part of the complete rules of chess and has been for over 500 years.
A related source of confusion: en passant only applies to pawns capturing pawns. No other piece can do it, and a pawn cannot use en passant to capture any piece other than an enemy pawn.
How En Passant Fits Into Pawn Play
Once you know the rule, you start to see how it shapes pawn decisions. A passed pawn trying to advance may need to move carefully to avoid being captured en passant at the wrong moment. Conversely, deliberately advancing your pawn two squares into the range of an enemy pawn can be a mistake if it allows a strong en passant capture.
For beginners, the most practical takeaway is this: when you advance a pawn two squares and it lands beside an enemy pawn on the fifth rank, your opponent has one move to capture en passant. They'll lose that right after that move passes. If you're on the other side, don't let that window close without deciding whether the capture is worth it.
To see how this fits alongside the other special pawn rules and how all the pieces move, it helps to look at the full picture of pawn movement: starting double advance, promotion, and en passant are all connected to what makes the pawn such an unusual piece.
If you want to practice spotting en passant opportunities, look for positions where your pawn has just reached the fifth rank and your opponent still has pawns nearby that haven't moved. When they push one of those pawns two squares, you'll have exactly one move to act.
FAQ
Can any piece use en passant?
No. Only pawns can use en passant, and only to capture another pawn. If a bishop, knight, or any other piece passes through a square, there's no special capture rule involved.
What if I forget to take en passant? Can I take on the next move?
No. The right to capture en passant expires the moment you play a different move. FIDE rules are explicit: if you don't capture immediately, the opportunity is gone for that pawn. This is why it's worth pausing to check whether an en passant capture is available or useful whenever your opponent pushes a pawn two squares.
Does en passant affect check? Can I use it to escape check or give check?
Yes to both. If capturing en passant would leave your own king in check, the capture is illegal (as with any move). But you can also deliver check with an en passant capture if the move exposes the enemy king. It's rare, but legal.
How do I write en passant in chess notation?
Write it the same way as any pawn capture: the file your pawn came from, then "x", then the square your pawn lands on. You do not write the square the captured pawn was on. Some older notations add "e.p." at the end (e.g., exd6 e.p.) but modern algebraic notation does not require it.
Is en passant optional?
Yes. You are never forced to capture en passant. It's available for one move, and you can choose to decline it. Sometimes ignoring an en passant opportunity is the right decision if the capture leads to a worse pawn structure for you. To think through those kinds of pawn decisions, it helps to understand how your board is set up and how pawns relate to each other structurally.