En passant: the chess rule explained
En passant lets a pawn capture an enemy pawn that has just moved two squares past it. Learn the rule and practise it on a real board. Special moves · lesson 2 of 3.
The lesson in words
Your pawn is on e5. Watch Black move a pawn two squares, landing right beside yours.
If it had moved one square, you could have captured it. So the rules let you capture it as if it had moved only one. That’s en passant, French for “in passing”.
Your pawn moves diagonally to the square the black pawn skipped over, and the black pawn is removed.
Try it: Capture en passant.
En passant only works on the very next move. Last special move: promotion.
Questions
When can you capture en passant?
Only straight away. If you make another move first, the chance is gone.