EIGHT SQUARE™ - En Passant: The Dancing Bear of Chess

En passant is French for “in passing.” When used correctly, the en passant (chess notation: e.p.) move
can be a surprise tactic in an overall passed-pawn strategy. However, en passant is an unusual looking move;
the capturing pawn does not occupy the same square as the captured pawn. En passant, like a dancing bear, can
look awkward and bring surprise. First, some chess players don’t know the rule, so seeing it in an actual game
brings surprise. The timing of en passant is determined by your opponent’s pawn openings. Additionally, only
immediately after an opponent’s pawn moves forward two-spaces from its initial position can a pawn on the
forth-rank for Black or the fifth-rank for White capture by en passant. In other words, the attacking pawn moves
diagonally forward, capturing the just moved pawn, as if it had only moved up one.
BEFORE E.P. AFTER E.P.

White just moved from d2 to d4: Can the adjacent black pawn on e4 capture it by e.p.? [Answer: Yes, exd3 e.p.]

The en passant rule was made to prevent a pawn from speeding past another pawn without conflict. Yet,
the en passant rule allows a player to capture or ignore a passing pawn. If the en passant capture doesn’t occur
on the next move, the opportunity passes. Without a passed-pawn strategy, en passant is often ignored because
it usually does not change the material ratio, just pawns’ positions. However, pawns’ positions can be critical to
win a game. For example, unconnected or stacked pawns can make for a weaker defense; advancing pawns
sometimes need to move diagonally to gain promotion. Further, en passant can clear up a file for a rook, a
diagonal for a bishop, or make way for a knight.

The Black knight was able to occupy the e4 square because of an earlier en passant move (exd3 e.p.) cleared it.

Because the en passant special move is used rarely, opponent’s can forget the rule and be surprised by
vulnerabilities.
© 2008 James Jones. All rights reserved. 1