En passant is the chess rule that surprises almost every new player. The first time it happens, it looks like a bug: a pawn captures sideways onto an empty square, and the pawn next to it disappears. It's a real rule, it has been part of chess for centuries, and it takes about two minutes to learn. Here's exactly how it works.
Quick answer
En passant (French for “in passing”) is a special pawn capture. When a pawn moves two squares from its starting square and lands right beside an enemy pawn, that enemy pawn may capture it as if it had moved only one square. It is allowed only on the very next move. For example, after , White can play : the e5-pawn moves to d6 and the pawn on d5 is removed.
- Who
- Only a pawn can capture en passant, and only a pawn can be captured
- When
- Immediately after the enemy pawn moves two squares, or never
- Where
- Your pawn must be on its fifth rank: rank 5 for White, rank 4 for Black
- Notation
- Written like a normal pawn capture, e.g. exd6 (adding “e.p.” is optional)
Key ideas in 20 seconds
Pawns onlyNo other piece can capture en passant.
Now or neverWait one move and the chance is gone.
Fifth rankYour pawn must already be far up the board.
Lands behindYour pawn goes to the square the enemy pawn skipped.
OptionalYou don't have to take, unless it's your only legal move.
What is en passant?
A pawn on its starting square may move one or two squares forward. The two-square move was added to speed the game up, but it created a loophole: a pawn could jump straight past an enemy pawn that was waiting to capture it. En passant closes that loophole. In this position, after , Black's d-pawn has jumped past d6, the square White's e5-pawn attacks. White may capture it anyway, exactly as if it had only moved to d6.
After , White's pawn moves diagonally to d6, an empty square, and the black pawn on d5 is taken off the board. That's the only capture in chess where the capturing piece doesn't land on the square of the piece it takes.
❓ Quick check
Black's f-pawn moves from f7 to f5 and lands next to your pawn on e5. If you capture en passant, where does your pawn go?
Your pawn lands on f6, the square the black pawn passed over, and the pawn on f5 is removed.
▲ Step through this line on the board at the top of the page
The en passant rules, step by step
An en passant capture is legal only when all four of these are true:
- Your pawn is on its fifth rank. For White that's the 5th rank, for Black the 4th rank.
- An enemy pawn moves two squares from its starting square in one move.
- It lands right beside your pawn, on the same rank and an adjacent file.
- You capture on the very next move. If you play anything else first, the right is lost for good.
Your pawn then moves diagonally forward to the square the enemy pawn passed over, and the enemy pawn is removed. Everything else is a normal move: if the capture would leave your own king in check, it's illegal, just like any other move.
It works the same way for Black. Here Black's pawn is on d4, Black's fifth rank. If White plays e2-e4, the pawn jumps over e3, a square the d4-pawn attacks, so Black may answer ...dxe3, landing on e3 and removing the pawn on e4.
❓ Quick check
Black pushed the d-pawn two squares, but you made a different move. Can you still capture it en passant on your next turn?
En passant is only allowed on the move right after the two-square pawn move. After that, the chance is gone.
When you can't capture en passant
- The pawn moved only one square. Then it didn't pass your pawn, so there's nothing to capture “in passing”.
- The pawn arrived beside yours in two separate moves. Only a single two-square move counts.
- You waited a move. The right expires immediately.
- It isn't a pawn. Knights, bishops and other pieces can never capture or be captured en passant.
A tricky case: the pin along the rank. After , White's b5-pawn would normally be able to take en passant. But capturing would remove both pawns from the fifth rank at once, and the rook on h5 would then attack White's king on a5. A move that leaves your own king in check is illegal, so bxc6 is not allowed here.
En passant with check and checkmate
Because en passant opens a line and puts a pawn on a new square at the same moment, it can create surprising attacks. An en passant capture can give check, uncover a check from a piece behind it, or even capture a pawn that is giving check.
Here Black attacked the knight with , and is checkmate. The pawn leaving h5 opens the h-file for the rook on h1, and the pawn landing on g6 checks the king too. It's a double check, so the king must move, but g8 is blocked by Black's own knight, g7 is covered by the bishop on b2, g6 is protected by the knight, and h6 and h8 are on the rook's file. A famous real game, Gundersen–Faul (Melbourne, 1928), ended with a very similar en passant checkmate by double check.
How to write en passant
In algebraic notation, en passant is written like any pawn capture: the file the pawn came from, “x”, and the square it lands on. White's capture above is exd6. You can add e.p. (exd6 e.p.) to make it clear, but it's optional. In a FEN, the computer format for a position, the square right behind a pawn that has just moved two squares (d6 in our example) is written in the en passant field. Some programs write it after every two-square pawn move, others only when an en passant capture is actually possible.
Why does en passant exist?
In early chess, pawns could only move one square at a time. Sometime between the 13th and 16th centuries, players in Europe added the two-square first move to speed up the opening. En passant was added so that this new move couldn't be used to sneak a pawn past an enemy pawn without risk. It's already described in Ruy López's chess book of 1561, but it wasn't accepted everywhere at once: Italy only adopted it, along with the other international rules, in 1880. Today it's part of the official FIDE Laws of Chess and the US Chess rules.
Common mistakes
- Not knowing the rule exists. Many casual players think their opponent cheated or the app glitched. Chess apps only allow legal moves, so if it happened, it was legal.
- Trying it too late. If you don't capture right away, the chance is gone.
- Trying it after a one-square move. Only a two-square move can be captured en passant.
- Forgetting your opponent can do it too. Before pushing a pawn two squares past an enemy pawn, check what happens after the en passant capture.
💡 Club-level tip
Whenever one of your pawns reaches the fifth rank, look at the pawns on the files next to it. If one of them is still on its starting square, a two-square push will give you an en passant chance, and if it moves only one square, it walks into a normal capture. Either way, your advanced pawn is guarding both squares. Read more about pawns in castling, en passant and promotion, or try the en passant trick in our tactics puzzles.
Frequently asked questions
What is en passant in chess?
A special pawn capture. When a pawn moves two squares from its starting square and lands beside an enemy pawn, that enemy pawn may capture it as if it had moved only one square, but only on the very next move.
Is en passant forced?
No. Under the official rules it's optional, like any other capture. The only exception is when en passant is your only legal move: then you have to play it.
Can you capture en passant after waiting a move?
No. The capture must be made immediately, on the move right after the two-square pawn move. If you play anything else, the right is lost.
Can a pawn capture en passant if the enemy pawn moved one square?
No. En passant only applies to a pawn that has just moved two squares from its starting square.
Can en passant be checkmate?
Yes. An en passant capture can give check, uncover a check from another piece, or both at once. Gundersen–Faul (Melbourne, 1928) ended with an en passant checkmate by double check.
Can you capture en passant to get out of check?
Yes, if the pawn giving check has just moved two squares. Capturing it en passant removes the checking pawn, as long as the capture does not leave your king in check some other way.
How do you pronounce en passant?
Roughly “on pa-SAHN”. It is French for “in passing”. Many English speakers say “en PASS-ant”, and both are understood.
Why is en passant such a popular joke online?
Because so many casual players have never heard of it, it looks like a bug the first time it happens. Online chess communities turned that surprise into a long-running joke.
Test yourself
5 positions from this lesson. Play White: can you find the move?