En Passant Explained
The three conditions for a legal en passant capture, why the rule exists, how to write it in notation, and every scenario where beginners get it wrong. No signup. No paywall.
TL;DR — En Passant in 5 Bullets
- Only a pawn can capture en passant, and only against a pawn that just moved two squares from its starting rank.
- Your pawn must be on the 5th rank (4th rank for Black) and directly beside the just-moved enemy pawn.
- You must capture immediately — on the very next move. The right expires after one ply.
- Your pawn lands diagonally on the square the enemy pawn skipped over, and the enemy pawn is removed from the rank beside it.
- Notation: exd6 (or exd6 e.p.) — same as any other pawn capture.
What Is En Passant?
En passant — French for “in passing” — is a special pawn capture. When an enemy pawn uses its two-square first move and lands directly beside your pawn on the 5th rank (or 4th rank if you're Black), your pawn can capture it on the very next move as if the enemy pawn had only moved one square.
The geometry is the weird part: your pawn moves diagonally to the square the enemy pawn skipped over, and the enemy pawn — still sitting on the rank beside that square — is removed from the board. The destination square is empty; the captured pawn isn't on it. This is the only capture in chess where the captured piece isn't on the square your piece lands on. If you're still learning the basics, read how chess pieces move first — en passant is a special pawn move that builds on the normal pawn rules.
The Three Conditions for Legal En Passant
Every legal en passant capture satisfies all three conditions simultaneously. Miss one and en passant is not available — no matter how close the geometry looks.
1. The captured pawn must have just moved TWO squares from its starting rank
En passant is only available against a pawn that just used its two-square first move. If the enemy pawn moved one square (or moved earlier and is now just sitting there), en passant doesn't apply. The two-square jump is what creates the chance — the rule pretends your pawn caught it 'in passing' across the square it skipped over.
2. Your capturing pawn must be on the 5th rank (or 4th rank for Black)
Only a pawn that has already advanced to the 5th rank can capture en passant. For Black it's the mirror — your pawn must be on the 4th rank. If your pawn is on its 4th rank (or 5th for Black), en passant isn't available no matter what the enemy just played.
3. You must capture IMMEDIATELY — on the very next move
The en passant right exists for exactly one move. If you wait even one ply (one half-move), the right is gone forever for that pawn. This is the rule beginners forget most often: 'I'll en passant next move' doesn't work — the window closes the instant you make any other move.
How to Capture En Passant
Three steps to execute an en passant capture correctly:
Step 1 — Confirm the trigger
The enemy just played a pawn two squares forward, landing it on a square directly beside your pawn on the 5th rank (4th for Black). If those two pieces aren't side-by-side after the two-square jump, en passant isn't possible.
Step 2 — Move your pawn DIAGONALLY
Your pawn moves one square diagonally forward to the square the enemy pawn SKIPPED OVER — not the square it landed on. For White that's the 6th rank; for Black it's the 3rd rank. This feels strange because the destination square is empty and the captured pawn isn't on it.
Step 3 — Remove the enemy pawn
Even though your pawn lands on an empty square, the enemy pawn (still sitting beside where it landed) is captured and removed from the board. The captured pawn never reaches the square your pawn occupies — that's the visual oddity that confuses every beginner the first time.
On every digital chess platform — chess.rodeo, Lichess, Chess.com — the diagonal capture and the pawn removal happen in one click. On a physical board you have to remember to lift the captured pawn off yourself; forgetting to is one of the most common touch-move disputes in club chess.
Why Does En Passant Exist?
Most beginners ask the same question the first time they see it: why is this even a rule? The answer is history. En passant is a patch for a side-effect of a different rule change that happened 500 years ago:
Before 1880, pawns could only move one square
The original medieval rules let pawns move only one square at a time. Opening play was painfully slow — getting pawns into the centre took 4+ moves per side and the middlegame didn't really start until move 15. Players hated it.
Around the 1500s, the two-square first move was added — for speed
European chess clubs adopted a new rule: a pawn could move two squares on its first move to speed up the opening. The change worked — games got sharper and more entertaining. But a problem appeared.
The two-square jump let pawns SKIP past enemy pawns
Imagine your pawn is on the 5th rank, watching an enemy pawn on the adjacent file's starting square. Under the OLD rule, the enemy pawn would have to walk past you one square at a time — and you could capture it as it passed. Under the NEW two-square rule, the enemy pawn could leap over the capture square in one bound. That broke the symmetry: the side-to-move's pawn was effectively immune to the patient capture by the opposing pawn one rank ahead.
En passant was added to restore the old capture right
The fix was the en passant rule: if a pawn uses the new two-square jump to skip past an enemy pawn's capture square, the enemy pawn gets to take it AS IF the two-square pawn had only moved one. The French phrase 'en passant' literally means 'in passing' — you're catching it as it passes. The rule has been universal in FIDE chess since the 1880 standardisation and still works the same way on every online platform today.
When En Passant Is Illegal
Five scenarios where you can't capture en passant, ranked by how often beginners get them wrong:
The enemy pawn moved one square, not two
En passant requires the captured pawn to have just made a two-square first move. A one-square pawn push doesn't trigger en passant — even if both pawns end up side-by-side on the same rank. The trigger is specifically the two-square leap.
You waited a move
The right to capture en passant lasts exactly one move. If you play anything else on the move immediately after the enemy's two-square pawn push, the en passant right vanishes forever for that pawn. Even if the pawn is still sitting there 20 moves later, you can no longer capture it en passant.
Your pawn isn't on the 5th rank (4th for Black)
Only a pawn that has already advanced to the 5th rank (for White) or the 4th rank (for Black) can capture en passant. A White pawn on the 4th rank cannot en passant a Black two-square pawn push — the rank requirement is part of what makes the geometry work.
The capture would expose your king to check
Like any other move, en passant cannot leave your own king in check. A pinned pawn cannot en passant if doing so would open a discovered check on your king. This is the trickiest tactical detail — en passant has the same legality filter as any regular capture.
You're trying to en passant with a piece other than a pawn
En passant is a pawn-only move. Knights, bishops, rooks, queens, and kings cannot capture en passant — only a pawn next to the just-moved enemy pawn can do it. This sounds obvious but newer players sometimes ask whether a knight could capture en passant on a similar geometry.
Surprising: When En Passant IS Legal (or Forced)
Four scenarios where en passant is more powerful than beginners realise:
En passant is forced (only legal move)
Yes — en passant can be the only legal move in a position. If you're in check and the only way to block or escape is an en passant capture, you must play it. There's nothing optional about it when it's the only move that keeps the game legal.
En passant captures with check
En passant can deliver check, discovered check, or even checkmate. The Petrov Defense and certain French Defense lines feature en passant-with-check tactics — the captured pawn's disappearance opens a file or diagonal toward the enemy king, and the capturing pawn lands on a checking square.
En passant in a pawn endgame
En passant is most common in opening tactics, but it also matters in king-and-pawn endgames. When your opponent tries to bypass your blockading pawn with a two-square first move from a far-back square (e.g., a 2nd-rank pawn jumping to the 4th), en passant can be the only way to stop them. Always check the en passant flag before assuming a pawn endgame is drawn.
En passant decides World Championship games
En passant has appeared in elite games at every level — including World Championship matches. It's not a beginner curiosity that grandmasters never use; it's a legitimate tactical resource that decides games when the geometry lines up.
En Passant Notation
In modern algebraic notation, en passant looks exactly like a normal pawn capture:
Standard form
exd6 — the e-pawn captures on d6. There's nothing in the notation that says “en passant” explicitly, because the move is unambiguous: a pawn capture to a square where no piece visibly sits can only be en passant.
Explicit form (rare, but still legal)
exd6 e.p. — the “e.p.” suffix marks the capture as en passant. FIDE rules permit it; PGN viewers usually omit it. Use it in tutorials and beginner-facing material, drop it in real game records.
The FEN string for any position with an en passant opportunity records the en passant target square as the 4th field. For more on how positions are encoded, see our chess FEN string guide.
Common Beginner Mistakes
The same handful of en passant errors come up in every beginner's first 100 games. Here are the fixes:
Waiting a move and then trying to capture en passant
En passant is a one-move right. The instant you play anything else, the right expires forever for that pawn. If you see the opportunity, take it immediately — or accept that it's gone.
Trying en passant against a one-square pawn push
Only a two-square first move triggers en passant. If the enemy pawn moved one square forward, there's no en passant — even if the two pawns are now side-by-side on the same rank.
Moving the capturing pawn to the wrong square
Your pawn moves diagonally to the square the enemy pawn SKIPPED OVER, not the square it landed on. For White that's the 6th rank (the square 'behind' the just-moved enemy pawn from White's perspective).
Forgetting to remove the captured pawn
After the diagonal move, you must also remove the enemy pawn from the board — even though it isn't on the destination square. On every digital chess platform this happens automatically; on a physical board you have to remember to lift the pawn off yourself.
Thinking en passant is optional but never useful
En passant isn't a beginner curiosity. It's a real tactical resource: it can break a blockade, open files toward the enemy king, prevent an opponent's pawn from creating a passed pawn, and even deliver mate. Always check whether en passant is available before playing anything else when the trigger condition appears.
Quick Reference — Example Positions
Two textbook examples — one for each colour — to lock in the geometry:
| Setup | Enemy plays | You play | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| White pawn on e5 | d7 → d5 | exd6 e.p. | Black d5 pawn removed |
| Black pawn on d4 | e2 → e4 | dxe3 e.p. | White e4 pawn removed |
In both rows the capturing pawn lands one rank behind the enemy pawn that just moved — that's the visual signature of an en passant capture.
Practise En Passant for Free
The fastest way to internalise en passant is to actually trigger it on a board a few times. Three free, no-signup options:
- Free Board Editor — set up any en passant position and play out the diagonal capture to see exactly which squares are involved. Useful for the “wait, how does the geometry work again?” question.
- Free PGN Viewer — load any PGN with en passant captures and step through them move-by-move. Most engine games include en passant in the first 20 moves at least once.
- chess.rodeo — no account, no paywall — play live games and let Stockfish flag every missed en passant in the post-game analysis. The fastest way to train pattern recognition for the one-move window.
Frequently asked questions
Everything beginners ask about en passant — when it's legal, why it exists, how to write it, and how to practise it for free.
What is en passant in chess?
En passant (French for 'in passing') is a special pawn capture. When an enemy pawn moves two squares forward from its starting rank and lands next to your pawn, your pawn can capture it on the very next move as if it had only moved one square. The captured pawn is removed from the board, and your pawn lands diagonally on the square the enemy pawn skipped over. The capture is legal only on the move immediately after the two-square jump — the window closes after one ply.
When can you do en passant in chess?
En passant requires three conditions to all be true at once: (1) the enemy pawn just moved two squares forward from its starting rank, (2) your pawn is on the 5th rank (or the 4th rank if you're Black) and directly beside the enemy pawn after its jump, and (3) you capture on the very next move — the right disappears after any other move. Miss any one of these and en passant is not available.
Why does en passant exist?
En passant was added to European chess in the 1500s and standardised by 1880 to restore a capture right that the two-square pawn rule accidentally removed. Originally pawns could only move one square, which let an opposing pawn one rank ahead capture them on the way. Once the two-square first move was added for speed, pawns could 'leap over' that capture square — the en passant rule re-balanced this by letting the defending pawn capture as if the jumper had only moved one. It's a fix for a side-effect of a different rule change.
How do you write en passant in chess notation?
En passant is written like any other pawn capture, with the file of the capturing pawn, an 'x' for the capture, and the destination square — for example exd6 or fxe3. Optionally you can append 'e.p.' for clarity (so exd6 e.p.), but modern algebraic notation usually omits it because the move's geometry is unambiguous: a pawn capture to an empty square can ONLY be en passant. In a PGN file you'll typically see just 'exd6' with no explicit en passant marker.
Can you en passant on the next move only?
Yes — that's the strictest part of the rule. The en passant right exists for exactly one move (one ply, technically). If you make any other move after the enemy's two-square pawn push, the right is gone forever. You cannot 'save' an en passant capture for later, and the rule applies independently to every two-square pawn push — each one creates its own one-move window that closes immediately.
Can a knight or bishop capture en passant?
No. En passant is a pawn-only move. Only a pawn standing directly beside the just-moved enemy pawn (and on the correct rank — 5th for White, 4th for Black) can capture en passant. No other piece can do it, no matter how the geometry lines up.
Does en passant work in FEN strings?
Yes — every FEN string contains an en passant target square as its fourth field. If a pawn just moved two squares, the FEN records the square the pawn skipped over (the en passant target) — for example '... w KQkq e3 0 1' marks e3 as an en passant target. If en passant is not available, the field is '-'. This is how online platforms and engines know whether en passant is legal on the next move. If you're learning FEN, see our complete FEN string guide.
Is en passant compulsory?
No, en passant is optional in the same way any capture is optional — you can play a different move instead. The exception: like any other move, en passant is forced if it's the only legal move in the position (for example, when you're in check and en passant is the only way to get out). 'Optional' just means it doesn't have to be played whenever it's available — not that the rules treat it specially.
What does 'en passant' mean and how do you pronounce it?
'En passant' is French for 'in passing'. Pronounced roughly 'on pa-SAHNT' (the final 't' is silent in French, though English speakers often say it). The name describes the rule's mechanic: you catch the enemy pawn as it passes by your capture square. The phrase has been the universal English-language chess term since the rule's 1880 standardisation — there's no English-translation equivalent in use anywhere.
Can en passant deliver checkmate?
Yes — en passant can deliver check, discovered check, double check, and even checkmate. The captured pawn's disappearance can open a file or diagonal toward the enemy king while the capturing pawn lands on a checking square. En-passant-mate is rare but real and has appeared in correspondence chess, computer engine games, and at least one elite over-the-board game in history.
How is en passant different from a regular pawn capture?
Two differences. First, en passant captures an enemy pawn that ISN'T on the destination square — your pawn lands on an empty square and the enemy pawn (sitting beside it on the same rank) is removed from the board. Second, en passant has the strict one-move window: it must be played immediately after the enemy's two-square pawn push or the right is lost. Regular pawn captures have neither quirk: they capture the piece on the destination square, and you can play them at any time.
Where can I practise en passant for free?
Set up any en passant position in our free Board Editor on chess.lc — drag pawns into place, play the two-square push, and try the diagonal capture to see exactly which squares are involved. Then play live games at chess.rodeo with Stockfish analysis afterwards: every missed en passant gets flagged in the post-game review so you can train the pattern recognition. No account, no signup, no paywall on either tool.
Never miss an en passant again — let Stockfish flag them
Open any game in chess.rodeo, hit Analyze, and Stockfish marks every missed en passant in the post-game review. Free, no account, no paywall.