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Occurs when the pawn to be captured moves two squares at once in its first move.It is a special move of pawn capture in chess.How did en passant come into existence in chess – Every chess player should know this fact.Capture must be done on the immediate next move- Explanation Only applicable when the opponent’s pawn moves two steps in an adjacent file- Explanation Pawn going to capture the opponent’s pawn must be on its fifth rank- Explanation So now that you know what is rank and file in chess you are perfectly ready to grasp the concept of en passant. Thus there is a total of 64 squares on the chessboard. There is a total of 8 files on the chessboard. Each of the files is denoted using the English alphabet from a to h. There are in total 8 ranks on a chessboard.įile means the vertical columns in the chessboard. Rank means the rows that go side to side across the chessboard. Ahead of my explanation these two terms will be used heavily so make sure that you know them properly. Now before we dive in, for those who don’t know what is a ‘file’ and ‘rank’ in chess, here’s a brief description. I am going to simplify everything for you and clear all your doubts.
EN PASSANT CHESS PLUS
Now, ahead I am going to explain these three conditions in more detail plus I will also explain some additional confusions that you may have related to this topic.
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If any of the above three things don’t happen then en passant is not considered legal. So, as per the standard rules en passant occurs only when the pawn that is going to capture the opponent’s pawn is on its fifth rank if the opponent’s pawn moves two steps in an adjacent file and the capture is done on the immediate next move.
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There is a clear description of en passant in the FIDE Laws of Chess (FIDE is the international governing body of chess) articles 3.7.4.1 and 3.7.4.2. So, generally while playing chess in a tournament or even casually, when you come across en passant for the first time the very first question that comes to your mind: Is en passant legal in chess?Īs per the standard chess rules, en passant is completely legal in chess. En passant is a topic that may confuse you a lot if you are not very much familiar with it.