Promotion and en passant
In short
A pawn that reaches the last rank must be promoted: it is replaced by a queen, rook, bishop or knight of the same colour. Almost always you choose a queen, so a promoted pawn is worth a whole new queen.
By the end you can
- Promote a pawn and chooses the piece
- Understand and can play en passant
The lesson
A pawn that reaches the last rank must be promoted: it is replaced by a queen, rook, bishop or knight of the same colour. Almost always you choose a queen, so a promoted pawn is worth a whole new queen. That is why passed pawns become so dangerous in the endgame.
En passant (“in passing”) is a special pawn capture. If a pawn moves two squares from its starting square and lands next to an enemy pawn, that enemy pawn may capture it as if it had moved only one square. This capture is allowed only immediately, on the very next move.
Key points to remember
- Promotion: usually to a queen
- A pawn close to promotion is worth far more than one point
- En passant only straight after the two-square move
Examples
Show the solution
1. e8=Q
Show the moves
1... d5 2. exd6
Practise it
Solve puzzles on this idea: promotion puzzles, en passant puzzles.
Homework
Play a “pawns only” game: the first to promote wins.
More rules & board lessons
- The chessboard and its coordinates (Foundation)
- Long-range pieces: rook, bishop and queen (Foundation)
- Knight, king and pawn (Foundation)
- Check and the three ways out (Foundation)
- Castling (Foundation)
- What the pieces are worth (Foundation)