Chessy
What Is En Passant in Chess?
En passant lets a pawn capture an enemy pawn that has just advanced two squares, as if it had only moved one square — but this capture is only available on the very next move.
See en passant in action — play a free game against Chessy's engine and try the capture yourself.
Play free against the Chessy engine →How en passant works
The rule exists because a pawn on its starting rank can move two squares forward instead of one. If that two-square move lands it directly beside an enemy pawn, the enemy pawn gets the special right to capture it — moving diagonally onto the square the pawn passed over, and removing it from the board, exactly as though it had only advanced one square.
The one-move window
En passant can only be played on the immediate next move after the two-square advance. If the opportunity isn't taken right away, the right disappears permanently for that pawn — this is what trips up most beginners the first time they encounter it, since the capture looks illegal at first glance.
Why the rule exists
En passant was introduced to preserve fairness once the two-square first move for pawns became standard. Without it, a pawn could sprint two squares to slip past an enemy pawn that would otherwise have captured it after a single-square advance — en passant closes that loophole.
Frequently asked questions
Is en passant a mandatory move?
No, it's optional. A player can choose to capture en passant or simply make a different move, but the opportunity vanishes if not used immediately.
Can you en passant with any pawn?
Only a pawn on its fifth rank (from that player's perspective) can capture en passant, and only against an enemy pawn that just advanced two squares to land beside it.
Why does en passant confuse new players?
Because it looks like the pawn is capturing on an empty square rather than where the enemy pawn currently sits — but that's exactly what the special rule allows.