The EN PASSANT rule is the rule that most people find hardest to understand. EN PASSANT is French for IN PASSING. Remember that the EN PASSANT capture happens when a pawn captures a pawn as it PASSES a square. Let's go through it very slowly to help you understand it.

White has a Pawn on his FIFTH RANK. Count them from his end of the board. It's Black's move. He has a Pawn on the next FILE. He is about to move that Pawn TWO SQUARES.

Black has just moved his Pawn TWO SQUARES. Now, White can, if he chooses, CAPTURE THE BLACK PAWN WHILE IT PASSES ITS FIRST SQUARE.

Here's the position after White has made the EN PASSANT CAPTURE. Note that the White Pawn is now on the SIXTH RANK. Count them again!

Now watch Black do the same thing. Black has a Pawn on his FIFTH RANK. White has a Pawn on his SECOND RANK which he is about to move two squares.

Now White's moved the Pawn TWO SQUARES. Black has the chance to capture EN PASSANT.

This is the position after Black has made his EN PASSANT capture. YOU CAN ONLY CAPTURE EN PASSANT WITH A PAWN. YOU CAN ONLY CAPTURE A PAWN THAT HAS JUST MOVED TWO SQUARES EN PASSANT. YOU CAN ONLY MAKE AN EN PASSANT CAPTURE ON THE next MOVE AFTER THE PAWN HAS MOVED TWO SQUARES.

Remembering the EN PASSANT rule can make the difference between winning and losing the game. In this position it's White's move. He can win easily by moving his King across to capture the Black Pawn. But if he forgets the EN PASSANT rule he might move his pawn two squares forward. If he does this, Black will be able to CAPTURE EN PASSANT and promote the Pawn to a Queen in two moves time.

The EN PASSANT rule is an important part of chess. It will be well worth your while to go through this lesson once a week until you're really sure you understand it. Click here for a lesson on this quiz.