En Passant Explained: When the Special Pawn Capture Is Legal

Capture a pawn as it passes your pawn

En passant lets a pawn capture an adjacent enemy pawn immediately after that enemy pawn advances two squares from its starting square. The capturing pawn moves diagonally onto the square the enemy pawn passed over.

For example, White has a pawn on e5 and Black has just played d7–d5. White may play exd6: the white pawn lands on d6, and the black pawn is removed from d5. The destination is empty before the capture, which makes this move look unusual.

White’s capturing pawn must already be on rank 5. For a black en-passant capture, the capturing pawn is on rank 4 and moves toward rank 3.

The opportunity lasts for one reply

You must capture en passant on the very next move after the double advance. If you choose another move, the opportunity expires. Two pawns standing beside each other are not enough to establish the right.

The move is optional, unless it happens to be the only legal move in the position. You are allowed to ignore the opportunity and choose a different legal move. An enemy pawn that advances only one square cannot be captured en passant.

To check a disputed capture, identify the opponent’s last move before looking at the two current pawn squares. The rule depends on how the position arose.

Your king must remain safe after both pawns leave their squares

An en-passant capture changes three squares: the capturing pawn leaves its starting square, the captured pawn disappears from a neighboring square, and the capturing pawn lands diagonally ahead. Removing both pawns from one rank can open a rook’s attack.

In the second diagram, White’s king is on e5, White’s pawn on f5, Black’s pawn on g5, and a black rook on h5. The supplied position assumes ...g7–g5 was just played. Even so, fxg6 is illegal: removing the f5 and g5 pawns would expose the white king to the rook.

Pause at any move in a diagram, then open that exact position in Chat to ask about it or in Coach to practice.

Name the destination and the removed pawn separately

Before making the capture, say three facts: where your pawn starts, where it lands, and which enemy pawn comes off the board. In the first example, those squares are e5, d6, and d5. Then inspect your king in the resulting position.

A FEN can include the en-passant target square, but that is supplied position information rather than proof of a real previous move. With a complete game score, replay the previous turn to confirm it.

For practice, compare the two diagrams. The first capture is legal; the second meets the timing assumption but fails the king-safety test. Understanding both will help you explain the rule when it first appears in one of your games.

Check your understanding

Continue learning

• Pawn Rules: Moving Forward, Capturing Diagonally
• Pawn Promotion: Your Four Choices on the Last Rank
• How Does a King Move—and When Can It Capture?