En passant is the rule that surprises more players than any other in chess — including strong ones, who occasionally forget it exists. It lets a pawn capture an enemy pawn that has just leapt two squares past it, as if it had only moved one.
Here is the whole rule, the three conditions it depends on, why it was invented in the fifteenth century, and how it shows up as a genuine tactical weapon rather than a curiosity.
1. The rule in one sentence
If an enemy pawn advances two squares from its starting rank and lands directly beside your pawn, you may capture it on the very next move as though it had advanced only one square — moving your pawn diagonally to the square it skipped over and removing the enemy pawn.
The capturing pawn ends up on a square the captured pawn never occupied, which is why the move looks wrong the first time you see it. In French, en passant means 'in passing'.
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after 1...d7-d5Black's pawn has just jumped from d7 to d5, sliding past the white pawn on e5. White may now capture en passant.White to move
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2.exd6 e.p.White's pawn captures to d6 — the square Black's pawn skipped — and the black d5 pawn is removed from the board.Black to move
Only a pawn can capture en passant, and only an enemy pawn can be captured this way.
The capturing pawn moves diagonally to the skipped square.
The captured pawn is removed even though nothing landed on it.
2. The three conditions — all must be true
First, the enemy pawn must move two squares in a single move from its starting rank. A pawn that reaches the square in two separate one-square moves can never be taken en passant.
Second, your pawn must already stand on its fifth rank, directly adjacent on the neighbouring file — rank 5 for White, rank 4 for Black.
Third, and the one everybody breaks: you must capture immediately, on your very next move. Play anything else and the right disappears for the rest of the game. En passant is the only capture in chess with an expiry date.
The enemy pawn must have just made a two-square move.
Your pawn must be on the fifth rank, on an adjacent file.
You must take on the next move or lose the right permanently.
3. Why the en passant rule exists
Until the late 1400s pawns moved one square at a time. The two-square first move was introduced to speed up the opening — but it created a loophole: a pawn could rush past an enemy pawn's control square and avoid being challenged at all.
En passant closes that loophole. It guarantees that a pawn cannot use the two-square jump to evade a capture it would have faced with a one-square move, which keeps pawn structures and blockades meaningful. Understanding it as a patch, not an oddity, makes it easy to remember.
The rule exists to stop the two-square jump from dodging a capture.
It keeps pawn chains and blockades enforceable.
It has been part of standard rules since the fifteenth century.
4. How to write en passant in notation
Write it as a normal pawn capture, using the destination square the pawn actually reaches — exd6, not exd5. Many books and databases add 'e.p.' afterwards for clarity: exd6 e.p. Both forms are correct, and PGN files usually omit the suffix.
The most common recording mistake is writing the captured pawn's square. Remember that in chess notation you always record where your piece goes, never where the enemy piece was.
Record the square your pawn lands on: exd6.
The 'e.p.' suffix is optional and purely descriptive.
Notation always records destination, never the captured piece's square.
5. En passant as a real tactic
In practice, en passant does three useful jobs: it breaks a blockade an opponent is trying to build, it opens a file towards a castled king, and it creates a passed pawn out of nowhere in the endgame. In French Defence and King's Indian structures it appears regularly, and missing it can cost a whole plan.
It also appears as a defensive resource: when an opponent tries to seal the position with a two-square push next to your advanced pawn, capturing en passant reopens the position at exactly the moment they wanted it closed. Because it can be played only immediately, it belongs on your blunder-check list — every time an enemy pawn jumps two squares, look at your fifth-rank pawns before doing anything else.
Uses: break a blockade, open a file, or create a passed pawn.
The right lasts one move only — check for it the instant a pawn jumps.
Common in French Defence and King's Indian pawn structures.
Chess terms used in this guide
En passant
French for 'in passing'; a pawn capture available for exactly one move after an enemy pawn's two-square advance lands beside your pawn.
Fifth rank
Rank 5 for White and rank 4 for Black — the only rank from which a pawn can capture en passant.
Passed pawn
A pawn with no enemy pawns ahead of it on its own or adjacent files. En passant captures often create one.
Blockade
Placing a piece or pawn directly in front of an enemy pawn to stop it advancing. En passant is the classic way to break one before it forms.
Frequently asked questions
What is en passant in chess?
A special pawn capture: when an enemy pawn advances two squares and lands beside your pawn, you may capture it on your next move by moving diagonally to the square it skipped, removing the enemy pawn.
When can you not use en passant?
If the enemy pawn did not just make a two-square move, if your pawn is not on the adjacent file of your fifth rank, or if you played any other move first — the right expires after one move.
Can a king or a knight capture en passant?
No. Only pawns can capture en passant, and only pawns can be captured this way.
Is en passant mandatory?
No. It is an option, never forced — unless it happens to be your only legal move.
How do you write en passant in chess notation?
Use the destination square, for example exd6, optionally followed by 'e.p.' to mark that it was an en passant capture.
Volume 3 · Endgames
Technique in the Final Phase
King and pawn technique, rook and pawn, the active king, the square of the pawn, the Lucena bridge, the Philidor defence and drawing resources in positions that look lost.
