What is En Passant in Chess?
En Passant: The Special Pawn Capture Move
Let’s say you’re playing a game. Your opponent, looking smug, pushes their pawn two squares forward landing next to yours. You capture it diagonally, but the square’s empty. Still, you take it. They freak out.
“That’s not legal!” Oh, but it is.
Welcome to en passant—the most misunderstood move in chess, and the easiest to overlook. Especially if you learned the game on a rainy afternoon from your uncle and never cracked open a rulebook.
After reading this post, you’ll know everything about this special pawn capture — how it works, when you can play it, and the curious history behind it.
What Is En Passant?
En passant (French for “in passing”) is a special rule that lets you capture an enemy pawn as it passes by, even though it’s not on a normal capture square.
Here’s what happens:
- Your opponent plays a pawn two squares forward from its starting rank.
- It lands next to your pawn.
- On your very next move only, you can capture it diagonally, like it had moved only one square.
- Your pawn lands behind where theirs was—on the square it passed over.
It’s the only capture in chess where you don’t land on the square of the piece you’re capturing.
Sounds weird? Let’s look at an example.
In this pawn endgame, White just played pawn to b5.
Black responds with pawn to c5.
White to move — and this is the only moment to play bxc6, capturing Black’s c-pawn en passant before the opportunity vanishes forever.
The 3 Conditions for En Passant
To pull off this move, all of the following must be true:
| ✅ Condition | 🧠 What It Means |
|---|---|
| Enemy pawn moved 2 squares | It must come from its starting square, moving 2 squares |
| It lands next to your pawn | On the same rank, in an adjacent file |
| You capture immediately | If you don’t take it right away, the chance is gone—forever |
Your pawn must be on the 5th rank (if you’re White) or 4th rank (if you’re Black).
Why En Passant Exists (Chess Lore)
Originally, pawns could only move one square forward. To speed up the game, the two-square first move was introduced in Europe between the 13th–16th centuries.
But this created a new problem: players could now bypass pawn tension entirely by jumping past opposing pawns, making it too easy to create passed pawns.
To restore balance, the en passant rule was introduced. First mentioned in the 16th century, it wasn’t standardized across Europe until the late 19th century—making it one of the final major additions to modern chess.
En Passant Notation
En passant uses the same notation as a regular pawn capture — it’s based on the square your pawn lands on.
Example
Your pawn on e5 captures en passant after Black plays d5: exd6
Sometimes, you’ll see “e.p.” added for clarity, but it’s optional: exd6 e.p.
Unsure about algebraic notation in chess?
👉 Check out our full guide on algebraic notation
En Passant in FEN
En passant shows up in the 4th field of a FEN string.
rnbqkbnr/ppp1pppp/8/3p4/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq d6 0 2
The d6 indicates that an en passant capture is available on that square. If the opportunity isn’t taken on the very next move, it vanishes from the following FEN.
❓ Unsure what FEN is?
👉 Check out our guide!
Want to Learn Other Special Moves in Chess?
Now that you’ve mastered en passant, you might like to know what en passant is. We’ve got you covered!
👉 Check out our guide to castling
👉 Check out our guide to pawn promotion
Practice En Passant with Noctie
🎯 Want to practice en passant interactively? We’ve put together a collection of puzzles that feature this unique rule in action. Check it out here.
Noctie is the world’s most human-like chess AI, built to help you improve faster. It adapts to your level, gives live feedback on every move, and even generates puzzles based on your games. You can also spar against Noctie in key positions and learn openings through play.
Start improving today!