Chess rules
En Passant: The Chess Rule Explained
En passant is a special pawn capture. When a pawn advances two squares from its starting square and lands beside an enemy pawn, that enemy pawn may capture it as if it had moved only one square, but only on the very next move.
Example
1. e4 Nc6 2. e5 d5 3. exd6
Black pushes d7 to d5, passing the square d6 that the white pawn on e5 attacks. On the very next move, White captures en passant with exd6. The white pawn lands on d6 and the black pawn on d5 is removed.
The exact conditions
Four things must all be true. Your pawn must stand on your fifth rank (the fifth rank for White, the fourth rank for Black). The enemy pawn must be on an adjacent file. That enemy pawn must have just moved two squares forward from its starting square in one move. And you must capture on the move immediately after.
You capture by moving your pawn diagonally to the square the enemy pawn passed over, and the enemy pawn is removed from the board. If you make any other move first, the right to capture that pawn en passant is gone for good.
Why the rule exists
The two-square first move was added to speed up the game. En passant was added so that a pawn could not use that double step to slip past an enemy pawn that would have been able to capture it on the square it skipped.
Things players often get wrong
En passant is only for pawns. Pieces cannot capture en passant, and only a pawn that just made the double step can be captured this way.
It is optional, like any capture, unless it is the only legal move. It can also be the move that gets you out of check, when the pawn that just made the double step is the piece giving check.
En passant can expose your own king. If removing both pawns from the rank opens a line from an enemy rook or queen to your king, the capture is illegal.
Common questions
Is en passant mandatory?
No. It is a normal option, just like any other capture. The only exception is when it is your only legal move, in which case you must play it.
Can you capture en passant a move later?
No. The capture is allowed only on the move immediately after the enemy pawn's two-square advance.
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