One of the unique chess rules that sometimes catches the less skilled players off safety is En Passant in Chess. To guarantee that you are not taken off guard, make sure you understand this rule well!
En Passant Rule
In chess, a unique pawn-capturing move is called the en passant rule. The French phrase “en passant” means “in passing,” and that’s exactly how this capture functions.
Generally, pawns can only capture pieces on an opposite file that are directly and vertically in front of them. It goes to the square where the seized piece is and switches it out.
This is the regular way a pawn can capture another piece
However, things are a little different with en passant. The capturing piece in chess only ever arrives on a different square than its victim in this particular form of capture.
You have to take your opponent’s piece as if it had just moved one square to achieve this capture. You take the opponent’s piece off the board and move your pawn horizontally to a square that is close to it, one rank away from its previous location, on the same file as theirs.
This is how a pawn captures En passant.
A few requirements must be met for the move to be approved:
- To make this move, the capturing pawn has to have moved exactly three ranks forward.
- The pawn that was caught had to move two squares in a single move to land near the pawn that was captured.
- As soon as the pawn being captured moves on the turn, the en passant capture must be done. The player will no longer be able to capture En Passant if they fail to do so during that turn.
If the capturing pawn has already moved four or more squares, this kind of capture is not possible. When the opponent pawn lands exactly next to your piece, but only after two moves, this capture is also banned.
En Passant’s History
Another rule that was created ages ago to add interest to chess is closely related to the en passant move. Pawns could only move one square at a time in the past. Pawn moves were changed to allow players to travel faster: they could now hop two squares when they left their home squares.
However, the game’s characteristics also changed when the pawn moves were changed. A passed pawn gives a great advantage to the possessing player. But it was now simpler to generate a passed pawn since a piece could travel two squares on its first move.
A criminal that needs to be kept under lock and key is a passed pawn. Authorities monitoring and other mild measures are needed.
— Nimzowitsch Aron
The rule of En Passant in Chess was created, to stop the dynamics of the game., Chess became harder to play when this rule was implemented, as it stopped players from simply moving to the side of an opponent pawn to generate passed pawns.
How Many Times You Can En Passant?
There will be two chances for each pawn to en passant, but they can only seize one of them. However, if the position permits, it can be played whenever a piece advances to the fifth rank near a pawn of the opposition.
Chess Game Examples of En Passant
A common move seen in many grandmaster games is en passant. Here are a few examples of well-known chess players using that move.
GM Magnus Carlsen defeated GM Loek van Wely in this game by capturing van Wely’s piece En Passant.
Conclusion
By being aware of the en passant rule, you can prevent your opponent from taking you by surprise when playing. It can also increase your attacking options and keep you from wasting material.