What is en passant in chess?
En passant lets a pawn capture an enemy pawn that has just moved two squares past it, as if it had moved one. The chance lasts for the very next turn only.
“En passant” is French for “in passing”. When a pawn advances two squares from its starting row and lands directly beside an enemy pawn, that enemy pawn may capture it as though it had stopped on the square it skipped over.
Example
White has a pawn on e5. Black plays d7–d5, landing right beside it. White can now play e5×d6: the white pawn moves diagonally to d6, and the black pawn on d5 is removed even though it isn’t on the square White lands on.
The rules that trip people up
- Now or never. The right lasts for one turn. If you play something else, it’s gone.
- Only after a two-square advance. A pawn that stepped forward one square at a time can’t be captured this way.
- Only pawns. No other piece can capture, or be captured, en passant.
- It still has to be legal. If the capture would leave your own king in check, it isn’t allowed.
In Trindo the capture appears as an ordinary highlighted destination when you select the pawn. See also what a pawn can promote to.
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