Special Pawn Moves — Chess Foundations, Lesson 9
The two hidden powers of the pawn: en passant captures and promotion to a queen (or knight, rook, bishop). Learn both special moves with examples.
This is lesson 9 of ten in Chess Foundations, a free beginner course from Endgame Society. Each lesson is short, written in plain language, and built around a board you can move pieces on while you read.
En passant and pawn promotion — the pawn's hidden powers.
Pawns have two special moves beyond their normal advance and diagonal capture:
Pawn Promotion: When a pawn reaches the opposite end of the board (rank 8 for White, rank 1 for Black), it MUST promote to another piece — queen, rook, bishop, or knight. Almost always, you choose a queen. This is called 'queening' a pawn.
En Passant: If a pawn advances two squares from its starting position and lands beside an enemy pawn, that enemy pawn can capture it as if it had only moved one square. This capture must be made immediately on the very next move or the right is lost.
En passant is the most misunderstood rule in chess. Don't worry if it takes a few games to spot it naturally!
White's pawn on e7 is one step from promotion. Playing e8=Q gives White a new queen — often the decisive moment in a game.
Black just pushed the e-pawn two squares to e5. White's d5 pawn can capture en passant by moving to e6, removing the black pawn on e5.
Work through the lessons in order and you will finish knowing how every piece moves, how games end, and how to plan your first few moves without memorising anything.
Our courses run from the rules of the board to endgame technique. Lessons are interactive: you read a short passage, then play the position out on a real board before moving on.
En Passant & Pawn Promotion — Special Chess Rules | Foundations