Taking on the pass. Capturing on the aisle - the move of just one pawn

Taking a pawn on the aisle is special rule, with which novice chess players are rarely familiar. Even more experienced players can easily forget this during their games. I confess that I myself forgot about this rule when playing at my local club a few years ago. When my opponent took my advanced pawn with this rule, which I simply forgot about, I felt terribly stupid. Don't let the same happen to you. By reading this article, you will learn or better understand the rule of capturing a pawn on the pass. Maybe someday you will use this rule against your opponent and get an advantage.

The official chess rule 3.7.d states that a pawn attacking a square crossed by an opponent's pawn that moves two squares forward in one move can capture that pawn as if the latter had only been moved one square forward. This is called taking on the pass.

Nobody learns chess by reading the official rules. It's like reading the owner's manual before assembling a piece of furniture. Most of us ignore the tediously long material of theory and just dive into practice.

We start playing chess by learning how different pieces move. Some of them are easy - officers move diagonally, rooks move horizontally and vertically, and queens have the ability to move both diagonally and horizontally and vertically. Knights, with their "L" movement and ability to jump over other pieces and pawns, are more difficult. Pawns, the weakest, are even more difficult, they usually move forward one square forward, except on their first move, when they can move two squares forward, but when they capture an opponent's piece or pawn, they do so diagonally! For beginners just starting to play chess, special cases, such as capturing a pawn on the pass, can be gaps in the knowledge of chess rules. Even a chess instructor may neglect to mention this so as not to confuse their students while they are still trying to understand the more general basic concepts. Capturing a pawn en passant is relatively rare, usually less than once per game.

Let's try to put a rather confusing explanation from the official rules with a simple example. The conditions for this are:

  1. The attacking pawn must be on the fifth rank (White pawn on c5);
  2. The black pawn threatened by an en passant capture must be moved two squares forward from its starting position and be on an adjacent file (so the white pawn on c5 can capture the black pawn, according to the en passant capture rule).
  3. A capture can only be carried out on the move immediately after the opposite pawn has made a move, otherwise the right to capture will be lost.

If all these conditions are met, an en passant capture can be carried out as if the pawn were moving only one square forward. So, if white has a pawn on c5, and the black pawn has moved from b7 to b5, then white can capture the black pawn on b5, and the white pawn will move to b6.

The illustrations below clearly demonstrate what happens on the board during a capture on the aisle.

1 2
3 4

Should you apply the en passant rule?

As with any chess move, you will sometimes use an en passant capture if you think it's a good move. I have seen beginner players proudly use the en passant capture just to show that they know the rule, even to the detriment of position. Somehow, they feel that if there is an opportunity to apply a rule, they do it. But this is a mistake.
Due to the relatively little knownness of this rule, some chess players consider it "unsportsmanlike" to apply it to a game with a relatively beginner chess player. If your opponent is weaker than you at chess, it seems unfair to take his pawn off the board when they don't expect it. If it's a friendly game, you can try to warn your opponent of the en passant capture and let him get his turn back, but the lesson is better to remember. It is, after all, the rule of chess, even if it is unfamiliar.
Personally, I would not hesitate to use the en passant capture, even if my opponent forgot about this rule. Defeat teaches more than victory, and you shouldn't be embarrassed by the opportunity to teach your opponent a lesson!

Just a month and a half ago, all countries and continents celebrated. This year it was celebrated for the fifty-first time. And until now, interest in this game has not weakened. But what is chess? Is it a sport, art or game? One of the opinions says that it is, after all, a science based on logic, because chess is a triumph of the mind, which can also give aesthetic pleasure. In this article, we will try to figure out what the concept of "taking on the aisle" means in this interesting game. How is it done and what does it give a chess player?

broken field

Before we figure out what it is to capture a pawn on the pass, let's get acquainted with one more term in chess. The broken field has a direct, direct relation to our question. This square is what is attacked by the opponent's pawn vertically in front of your pawn in its initial position. You can make a move through the beaten field. But this is how the opponent gets the right to capture the pawn in the same way as if it were moved only one square.

One field or two?

So, back to our question - taking on the aisle. What do the rules of chess say? Capturing on a beaten square means that the pawn has a special move, thanks to which it has the right to take the pawn from the opponent, moved to two squares at once. It should be noted that under attack is not the square on which the second pawn made a stop, but the one that she managed to cross. The first pawn is just on this beaten or crossed square and completes the capture exactly as if the opponent's pawn moved only one cell - one square.

These are the rules

Such a situation can arise only when the pawn is on certain ranks: for white - on the fifth, for black - on the fourth. And the square that the opponent's pawn crosses is under attack. It is possible to take a pawn from the opponent only if it is done immediately, as soon as it is moved two squares.

A capture on the aisle in chess (these rules have been discussed for a long time) is lost if it is not made with a counter move. And so it will be with each new batch.

If you plunge a little into history, you can find out that the capture on the pass and the beaten square was established in chess six centuries ago. And this was simultaneously with the rule, according to which it was allowed to make the first move with a pawn, and not one, but two squares forward. The rationale for this rule is quite simple: a pawn cannot move absolutely freely, provided that the square of passage is under full control enemy without fear of being "eaten".

The same important move

The most important. An aisle capture in chess is a special move by one pawn, the most important one in which it can hit an opponent's pawn that has been moved two squares. After all, it is known that a pawn can make its first move two squares forward. That is, she jumps over one field.

On the "line of fire" is absolutely not the square on which the second pawn stopped, namely the one that was crossed by it. The first pawn will complete its capture exactly on this crossed square, as in the case in which the opponent's pawn moved only one square. This has already been mentioned a little above.

So. Visually it will look like this:

Black pawn strikes a pawn white color, at the same time it stands on the beaten field, and not where the white pawn was (this happens with ordinary strikes). It is possible to carry out a capture on the aisle only on the next move, because later this right does not apply.

Some terms and conditions to be followed

On the aisle, only a pawn is allowed to be captured. Despite the fact that the queen also moves vertically across two fields, it is not allowed to beat the pieces on the aisle.

No piece other than the pawn can capture en passant. This, one might say, is an exclusive right, and it belongs exclusively to the pawn.

The opportunity to beat on the aisle is used to move this very pawn. In other words, next move. And nothing else. Otherwise, the opportunity is lost.

Since there are a total of eight pawns, theoretically it is possible to capture on the aisle as many as eight times. Only this applies to different figures.

And it is absolutely not necessary to beat on the aisle. That is? There are situations when taking on the pass turns out to be a serious mistake. What does it mean?

Taking on the pass. Playing effectively doesn't mean it's effective.

Almost any novice chess player is sure that a capture on the aisle will be a very bright start to the game. But at the same time, one should not forget that this, like all the others, subsequent ones, is just one of many other moves. He is no worse or better than others. And sometimes it can be a huge mistake, just like any other move.

A vivid example of this will be the following photo. So:

It clearly shows that Black has made a move. Meanwhile, White was tempted by the opportunity to take on the aisle.

Unfortunately, White lost a rook. The party was lost.

In this particular case, taking on the pass was a gross mistake. And you didn't have to do it. It was possible not to take a pawn, to play somehow differently, thereby trying to preserve the chances of winning.

Any chess player, both beginners and professionals, should always remember that in this game a spectacular move, or just a beautiful one, will not be the most correct and best in every case. All the mentioned rules when taking on the aisle must always be remembered, during each chess game, because in another case, you can encounter the most ridiculous and not very pleasant surprises, or even lose at all.

And you play chess according to modern, official rules, are you sure?

Look at what misconceptions about the rules of chess are found among amateurs, perhaps they are in your game.

White has a queen on the board, but this does not prevent pawns from being promoted to queens.

1) A pawn, when it reaches the last rank, can only turn into a piece that was previously captured. This misconception has its roots in Italy. It was there that until the 19th century they played according to such rules. For example, if only the bishop was eaten, then the pawn can only turn into a bishop, and if all the pieces are intact on the board, then the pawn remains a pawn on the last horizontal. In modern chess rules, a pawn can be promoted to any piece., that is, if your 5 pawns have reached the end, then you can have at least 5 queens or 5 knights, etc., at your discretion.

2) The chess player stubbornly moves his king to the last rank chessboard, because he thinks that by reaching it, he will get a pawn. You can move the king or other pieces on any cells of the board as much as you like, but you don't get pawns under any circumstances.

3) Many beginners try to check the enemy king at the beginning of the game, thinking that if the check is made, then the king will not be able to castle. But it's not like that if the king did not make a move, but simply defended himself from a check, then he retains the right to castling.

4) Children who don't understand the concept of checkmate just eat the king and think they've won the game. They need to explain that you can't eat the king, if he is in check, and the opponent does not see this and makes another move, then you need to correct his mistake. The same applies to the king's move to the beaten field.


Taking on the pass. Black pawn moves to 2 squares and White captures this pawn on the pass

5) Most amateurs are not familiar with the rule of taking on the aisle, although it appeared back in 1490. What is a take on the pass? This is when a pawn moves two squares across a beaten field, which is under attack by an opponent's pawn, and the opponent can take your pawn with his next move. His pawn moves to the attacked square, and your captured pawn is removed from the board. A capture on the aisle is only possible directly in response to a pawn's move across an attacked square; on subsequent moves, pawns cannot be captured on the aisle.

If you have any questions regarding , you can ask your question in the comments, we will definitely answer it.

Often, inexperienced chess players, who know superficially, after the opponent’s next move, were surprised and began to argue, arguing that when capturing, the attacking piece or pawn always stands on the field where the opponent’s beaten piece was. And here the opponent takes a pawn, which, it seems, was not under attack at all, and even puts his pawn on the wrong square, where the beaten pawn was. "That's against the rules! It’s impossible,” inexperienced players are outraged.

And here you can! All according to the rules. Subject to several conditions.

Broken field in chess

As you know, from its initial position, the pawn can move one square or two squares forward at the request of the player.

It happens that a situation arises when, when moving two squares forward, a pawn crosses a square attacked by an opponent's pawn.

The attacked square, through which the pawn passes, in this case is called broken field.

Crossing an attacked square is not forbidden by the rules of chess, but in this case the opponent has the right to capture this pawn. With such a capture, the attacking pawn moves to the beaten field, which the opponent's pawn "jumped over", and the enemy pawn that "ran ahead" is removed from the board. Consider an example:

The white pawn on b2 has the right to move b2-b4. At the same time, it will cross the b3 square, which is attacked by the black c4 pawn. b3 - broken field.

The black c4-pawn is capable of capturing en passant.

The black pawn from c4 moves to the square b3, the white pawn from b4, which has crossed the beaten square, is removed from the board. The diagram shows the end position.

Only the pawn has the right to capture on the aisle and only in relation to the pawn, this right does not apply to other pieces. Chess arbitrators will fine you if you break this rule in an official competition.

Should I take it on the way?

Taking on the aisle is not necessary, you can take it, you can not take it - it all depends on the specific situation. However, it should be remembered that it can be made only by a return move to the crossing of the beaten field by the opponent's "infantryman". Then you will no longer be able to capture the “running away” forward pawn on the aisle. Watch the video above to consolidate your knowledge.

Hello dear friend!

Sometimes in a game of chess there are surprises that cannot be called pleasant. Often these are banal “yawns”, but sometimes chagrin is a consequence of ignorance of the basic rules or their incorrect interpretation. Among the latter, one can safely include capturing a pawn on the aisle.

On the other hand, knowing the rules and being attentive to them can bring unexpected points to your piggy bank.

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What is a take on the passin chess

An aisle capture is a move in which a pawn captures a pawn across a "broken square".

If a pawn from its initial position (that is, being on the second or seventh rank) moves to two squares at once and the square through which it jumps is beaten by an opponent's pawn (beaten square), it can be beaten by this opponent's pawn.

Perhaps it's easier to explain with a picture:

The pawn, after being captured, goes to the “broken” square. In this case c3 or f6. But not the one that the beaten pawn went for -с4 or f5.

Now some terms and conditions:

Is it possible to beat other pieces on the pass?

On the aisle, it is only allowed to capture a pawn. Also, both the rook and the queen can move to two squares vertically. So, these figures cannot be taken on the aisle.

Can a piece other than a pawn capture en passant?

No, he can not. This exclusive right is granted only to the pawn.

How many times per gamecan i take it on the way?

The opportunity to beat on the pass can only be used in response to the movement of this very pawn. That is the next move. If the opportunity to capture a given pawn on the aisle is not immediately used, it is lost.

However, there are eight pawns. That is, in theory, you can take eight times on the pass during the game. Just different pawns.

Beat on the aislenot necessary . Moreover, often taking on the pass can be a mistake.

Effective does not mean effective

For a novice chess player, the en passant capture looks impressive. However, let's not forget that this is just a move. By definition, no better or worse than other moves. And sometimes it can be a mistake. Just like any other move.

Example:


Black played 1…d7-d5. White was tempted by the possibility of taking on the aisle:


Now follows 2… Ca7-e3+!


Alas… White loses a rook. The party is lost.

Taking on the pass in this case is a gross mistake. It was possible not to take the pawn, but to play, for example, 2. Rh6-f6, winning the f7-pawn and keeping the chances of winning.

Remember that in chess a beautiful or spectacular move is not always the best one.

The price of inattention

It is important not to forget about the rule of capturing on the aisle during the game. Otherwise, you may encounter very unpleasant surprises. Or even commit an absurdity worthy of the party.


Black played 1...b7-b5+ and... White conceded defeat by stopping the clock. And indeed, there is a checkmate on the board, what questions?

And there is a significant question! After 2.a5:b6, who is mate?


The mat is already black. These are the metamorphoses with the rule of taking on the aisle.

More p example. The lack of concentration of one player and the attentiveness of another, who skillfully took advantage of the opportunity that presented itself.


White optimistically moved the pawn two squares, rightly judging that they had time to hold the black pawn with the king. While the black king does not have time for the white pawn.

However,


1... w4:a3!

The black pawn captures the white one on the pass and is queened. White can lay down his arms.

I know from my own experience that such situations act like a cold shower. Chess sometimes they are cruel.

Taskson the pass


Black played e7-e5. Can White take a pawn on the bishop pass?


Black played d6-d5. Can White take the passed pawn?


Black made the move d7-d5. Is it legal for a white pawn to capture a black pawn en passant?


The black rook moves from e7 to e5. Is it possible to capture a rook with a pawn on the aisle?

Answers to tasks

  1. Can not. Only a pawn can capture on the aisle
  2. Can not. The black pawn does not move from the initial position and does not pass through the beaten square
  3. Yes, you can
  4. No you can not. On the aisle, you can only capture a pawn

I hope the rules of taking on the aisle and description the situations outlined in this article are clear to you. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment in the comments section.

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