Mastering en Passant in Your Chess App: A Step-by-Step Guide

Want to level up your chess game by mastering the en passant move?

This article will guide you through performing en passant in a chess app.

From setting up the game correctly to understanding the rules and identifying when to make the move, we’ve got you covered.

Explore the benefits of using en passant to gain a tactical advantage, surprise your opponent, and save your own pieces.

Learn how to avoid common mistakes and practice effectively to elevate your chess skills!

What Is en Passant in Chess?

En passant is a French term that literally means in passing. It is used to describe a special pawn capture move in chess where a pawn can capture an opponent’s pawn that advances two squares from its starting position, bypassing the square where it could have been captured had it advanced only one square. The en passant pawn capture rule may be used only when the two-square advance of the opponent’s pawn puts the latter in position to attack a pawn in the first rank of the capturing pawn.

In its most common placement, white moves its left-side g-pawn from g2 to g4, and black may capture it “en passant” from h4. The en passant capture must occur at the very next move, or the right to do so is permanently forfeited, and it cannot otherwise be captured.

How To Perform en Passant in Chess App?

En passant captures are performed in the Chess app by moving your pawn two steps forward from its starting position, with the next player looking for the possibility of attacking it from its initial vertical columns, or files (files are vertical columns).

This is also known as an en passant capture, with the capturing pawn advancing one square diagonally from its initial position. An en passant capture must be performed immediately after the opposing player puts their pawn two squares forward from its starting position.

The H-Grid view on the Google Chess app is the best way to see how to perform en passant formatting on all devices. A pawn moving from c2 to c4, bypassing c3, can be attacked en passant by any pawn in the contiguous entry field, with b4 or d4 being the possible squares for the attacking piece.

En passant is a special move allowed strictly according to the conditions of the game, and cannot be moved immediately before or after the opposing player’s pawn’s two-step move has been executed. This is a rare move that even expert players may not even see.

Set Up a Game on the Chess App

Start a game against the chess app of your choice (Rubo Studio’s Chess App is recommended). Click on the New Game option, decide on the side you want to play as, and select the opponent. Choose the level of difficulty as you desire.

Understand the Rules of en Passant

The en passant rule states that a pawn that moves two squares from its starting square and winds up adjacent to an opponent’s opposing pawn can be captured by the enemy pawn as though it had been moved forward only one square.

The en passant rule was introduced in the 15th century in Spain and France as an enhancement to the game. The term en passant came from Old French

Identify When en Passant Is Possible

Identify when en passant is possible if your opponent moves their two-square advanced pawn for the first time. The move after the two-square move, it is still possible to capture the advanced pawn with an en passant rule move.

You can take advantage of the en passant capture if there is no other legal move. You can identify when and how to use the en passant rule if you are running out of other legal moves. en passant chess situations are relatively rare. Of the 8719 possible games that can be played from the start of a game of chess, the en passant rule is used in roughly 20% to 30%. The en passant rule in chess is used significantly, and many chess players pay too little attention to such situations during the course of the matched game.

Make the en Passant Move

To make the en passant move in the chess app, whether Chess.com, Lichess, or any other, tap the en passant capture option when prompted. This option will only appear on the interface of a chess game when an en passant capture is possible. If the en passant option appears on your screen, tap that piece on your app with which you are en passant-capturing your resulting piece with. The app will then automatically move both pieces to the appropriate en passant-eligibility spots.

The most common mistake in following these steps on a chess app is not making the en passant capture when available and needed in order to secure an advantage or avoid checkmate. An average of two en passant opportunities happen in a game of chess. People who learn on average two new strategies from a teacher or guide only need advice on how to make the move appropriately to be able to practice and improve.

The player may have to remind the game if it permits en passant when without prompting, the special capture can actually be performed. Despite it being programmed in the rules, some chess apps do not handle en passant and may require a fair amount of rule-bending of their interface to play with it if people want to practice the move.

What Are the Benefits of Using en Passant in Chess App?

The benefits of using en passant in a chess app are that a player can improve their understanding of this unique game law that can prevent the disadvantage of allowing opposition pawns to sneak by unnecessarily. According to an analysis by grandmaster Alex Yermolinsky, en passant is a very tactical move with good stopping power. Approximately 8000 of the games they analyzed required en passant maneuvers to either stop or carry out successful inaugurations. Most of them were at beginner and intermediate levels which coincide with the average chess app user.

By practicing in a chess app, players can become quicker and smoother at executing en passant, relieving the difficulty on time in faster modes, as well as solidifying the maneuver in the minds of players. In fact, players failing to use en passant can be a key advantage for the opposition, says David J. I. Brookes, an independent scholar of chess history. He teaches the mechanics behind en passant on his YouTube channel, but does not hold out hope that it will be a move frequently used by many.

The unique rule is helpful in providing clearness and predictability to both the game and a player’s thinking in the event opponents advance their pawns intelligently towards their ranks. It is not a move that is required by all chess designs, so a player is wise to inquire with their chess app if their virtual chess set includes en passant and, if it does, to practice using it and defending against it.

Gain a Tactical Advantage

Improperly doing an en passant gives up an advantage. To expand, players perform an en passant to undermine an orbiter’s position and acquire the center of the board. The en passant rule gives players an advantage because it still enables the attacker to capture the pawn that has advanced two squares and bypassed two opponents. To claim an en passant due to the rule, players are under no time constraints as long as they have not made an illegal move by touching the opponent’s pieces and saying en passant.

Players such as Wesley So, a Filipino-American grandmaster born to a family of chess enthusiasts, uses the en passant rule to place himself at the center of the board and serves as a bridge for his side pawns. This allows a greater range of movement, including the ability to switch between an attack on both sides.

Surprise Your Opponent

It is easier to get an en passant in off-guard situations, such as blundered pawns or not paying attention, rather than to set yourself up for one, which requires your opponent to play right into your hands.

Cheating as in the Chess.com Study Hack Software prototype may assist you in identifying these aggressive defenses that lead to an en passant in advance if you know when to exploit the tool’s capabilities.

Save Your Own Pieces

When your opponent moves his or her pawn two squares forward from its initial position, you have the opportunity to save one of your own pieces in en passant. This is generally done in the following conditions:

1. The opponent’s move creates an opportunity for quickly attacking your own pieces, specifically the rooks or king.
2. Your piece moves to a position where it can directly attack an opponent’s piece (check), or it can simultaneously attack two of your opponent’s pieces or pawns.

En passant refers to the fact that your piece gains the benefit of moving diagonally or forwards in a way that typically would not be allowed due to the presence of the opponent’s hidden piece.

What Are the Common Mistakes When Using en Passant in Chess App?

• Interacting with plain interface of other players or online mode menu.
• Advertisements do not pause during setup of en passant in many cases.
• Wanting to undo a move can happen in tournaments where en passant was forgotten during such tournaments.
• Castling can also cause en passant to be misremembered.
• No Board Coordinates make it difficult to find the window despite ensuring that the interface is as clutter-free as possible.
• Adjusting transparent material in the popup over the board is hard to do with a touchscreen and has old information.
• Moving pieces before activating en-passant can be a nuisance.
• Wanting to highlight information in the in-app or web browser help documents is limited.

Forgetting About the en Passant Rule

Expecting en passant to happen when it does not – for instance when the capturing pawn already advanced past the attacked pawn or when the attacked pawn is protected – will lead to mistakes in your move evaluation since you assign wrong values to the moving, capturing, or attacking piece.

Forgetting en passant suppression (the described form of not capturing as an en passant) – whereby the right to capture an attacking pawn is lost after waiting and making a different move in the meantime – can complicate your play and trick you into making the wrong move by errantly assuming the en passant is still happenable.

If you do not know whether an en passant move is possible, right-click or select and disable the supermove feature from the menu in the Lichess web app to check the most recent situation with each piece. This simple tool will let you select pieces to analyze their possible future moves during your opponent’s turn.

Not Setting Up the Game Correctly

Setting up the game correctly is the most frequent issue users of a chess app have when trying to perform en passant. Every time they edit the board, a new bug manifests wherein passes can no longer be made.

To resolve this, make sure that when setting up the board in the Chess app, white pawns are in the 2nd rank, black pawns are in the 7th rank, the last move was b8 to e8 with a white pawn, and that the move occurred and the position is unaltered.

Making the en Passant Move Too Early

The en passant move cannot be retaken after it is made according to chess rules. If you see an en passant opportunity, it is best to make the move on the next turn to prevent the opponent from making other moves which might change the board state to their advantage.

However, the opportunity to perform an en passant move may be missed for two reasons before the next turn. One as the player will have the pawn to capture the pawn at the two minor ranks and if neither that nor the en passant move are completed on the next move for that piece then this special move will be missed. Two the chess program does not allow the en passant move to be executed after the turn on which it should be done.

How To Practice en Passant in Chess App?

Practice en passant in Chess.com app by going to the analysis board or on the main game board and setting up any position where it is legal. On the main board, tap the settings “gear” icon, tap analysis board mode, and tap the three dots in the upper right to enter the position where en passant is available to at least one player. Play the moves through on your own in analysis board mode to get a feel for how it works.

Play Against the Computer

There are many free apps and websites at all difficulty levels where you can play chess against the computer. The best known are Chess.com (Android + iOS) with A.I. called Sessa and Lichess (Web) with an open source A.I. called Stockfish. One less well-known option is the Fair Chess (Web) website. This implements the Capivara Zero library, which offers a neural network-based A.I.

After opening a game, you can practice en passant against the computer either by arranging specific piece positions as en passant puzzles, or by letting the computer play from the beginning and looking for an opponent’s move that sets up an en passant capture.

1. Chess.com App: How to play en passant in the training mode and in a game against the computer.
2. Lichess App: How to play en passant in the training mode and in a game against the computer.

Find a Practice Partner

The ideal way for players to get practice doing en passant in chess is to play two-player games against a human opponent. Since the phenomenon of en passant rarely comes into play, practicing with a human partner that can frequently play en passant moves against you is the best way to become accustomed to seeing the opportunities as they arise, not mismanaging your pawn timing, and spotting likely en passant situations for your opponent.

If an in-person game is not possible, use an electronic chess board where rules are set appropriately. This can also help because the board may automatically show players available en passant moves after a pawn has advanced two squares. An offline chess app that enables two humans to play against each other is another way to have a highly customized rules environment for en passant practice. You can also ask wherever that software or electronic chess set has online opponents available and try to find an opponent willing to voluntarily practice en passant against you. This may be more difficult compared to finding a partner in person since en passant is so rarely played throughout the game, but it is still an option to ask your opponent to move to another position or play another game if he or she has the time.

Use Online Resources

Online resources are an excellent option for learning and besting classic chess moves such as the dreaded en passant. There are countless free games or opponents open for you to try out en passant, or you could use them as a useful practice tool for getting used to adapting more dynamic strategy to your games as cutting down squares.

Here are some ways to practice using en passant in chess apps and websites:

1. Use training tools on websites such as lichess.org, chess.com, and chess24.com
2. Customize games on lichess.org, chess.com, chess24.com, or PlayMagnus chess mentor app to practice

A simple Google search will yield any number of articles and video tutorials on the best apps to use to learn en passant in chess. Chess.com is the most popular chess resource that has a Learning Academy containing a large number of curated articles and videos, an array of VN classes, mobile applications for learning on the go, and a supportive community to discuss strategy and broaden your learning journey.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Do en Passant in Chess App?

1. What is en passant and how is it used in chess?

En passant is a special move in chess where a pawn can capture an opposing pawn that has just moved two spaces on its first move. This move can only be done immediately after the opposing pawn has made its move.

2. How do I enable en passant in my chess app?

En passant should automatically be enabled in your chess app, but if it is not, you can check your app’s settings or options to make sure it is enabled. If you still cannot find it, try updating your app to the latest version.

3. Can en passant be used at any time during a game?

No, en passant can only be used immediately after the opposing pawn has moved two spaces on its first move. It cannot be used at any other point in the game.

4. Is en passant a mandatory move in chess?

No, en passant is not a mandatory move in chess. It is an optional move that can be used if the conditions are met.

5. Are there any special rules or conditions for en passant in chess apps?

No, the rules for en passant in chess apps are the same as the rules for en passant in traditional chess. The only difference is that the app will automatically recognize when en passant is possible and allow you to make the move.

6. Can en passant be used for any piece other than pawns?

No, en passant can only be used for pawns. It is a special rule that applies only to pawns and cannot be used for any other pieces on the chess board.