Expert: Peter Chapman - 5/22/2005

Question
How do I do El Passe moves and a move that the King and Rook change places?  I don't the name of it.

Thank you,

Matt

Answer
Hello Matt, I think you are refering to two moves that often confuse players when they are begining to learn the game. As I understand them they were introduced to speed up the game a little. Let us consider them one at a time. Firstly, 'En Passant' a french term meaning 'in passing'. Here a pawn captures diagonally an enemy pawn that moves past it. It can move past because it is the first move when a player can move the pawn either one or two squares. So if White has advanced a pawn [from e2 to e4 and finally] to e5 it could potentially capture any pawns that land on the squares f6 or d6. Now if Black has not moved his d of f pawns and choses to advance them two squares for their first move then they will pass over f6 or d6 [from d7 to d5 or from f7 to f5]. If White were not allowed to capture these pawns as they moved two squares on their first move, then he would lose any chance to capture them. So he has the right to capture them as they pass or en passant. The option to move a pawn on its first move two squares was introduced to speed up the game, but en passant captures avoid any unfair advantage either side could enjoy from the introduction of this two square move option. Secondly, your king and rook move is called 'castling'. Here, the player whose turn it is can move his king two squares to the left or right. At the same time he does so the rook on that side of the board comes to the square on the opposite side of the king. Moving to the right is called kingside castling or castling short. Here the king moves from e1 to g1 and at the same time the rook moves from h1 to f1. Moving to the left is called queenside castling or castling long because the rook must travel one extra square. The king moves from e1 to c1 and at the same time the rook moves from a1 to d1. Before a player can castle on either side he must ensure that the squares between the king and the rook are vacant. If he wants to castle kingside then he must first move the knight and bishop to new locations. If he wants to castle queenside then it is the knight, bishop and queen that must move. Also, the rook and the king must not have moved at all in the game up to the point when the player castles. They can not castle if they have moved off the square and back again. One other point, the king can not castle if it is in check from an enemy piece or if in the act of castling it moves into or across a square that would put it into check. The point of castling is to get your king into saftey at the corner of the board where it is more difficult for the enemy to attack it. It also brings a rook into play quickly and speeds up the game a little. Now if you would like further help with en passant captures or castling why not check out this free web site - http://www.chesskids.com/ here you will find a whole chess school for free. Either work through the complete course or if you prefer, pick out the parts that you want to study. Although it is aimed at young players I have found that it is a good site for players of all ages. I hope that I have been able to answer your questions and that you will enjoy your chess, Best Regards Peter