How the Pawn Moves in Chess
In the seventh stage, your child learns the rules for the pawn: how it moves and captures, what en passant is, and how a pawn turns into another piece. The stage is made up of short videos, explanations and 121 exercises on an interactive board.
What’s in this stage
- How the pawn moves: one square or two — 22 exercises
- How the pawn captures — 14 exercises
- What blocks a pawn — 16 exercises
- What is en passant — 17 exercises
- Pawn promotion — 12 exercises
- Moving, capturing and attacking with pawns — 23 exercises
- Test yourself: exercises on everything you’ve learned — 17 exercises
Total: 121 exercises
How the pawn moves: one square or two
A pawn moves only forward, and only one square at a time. The exception is its first move: a pawn that hasn’t moved yet (a white pawn on the 2nd rank, a black pawn on the 7th) may move two squares at once. A pawn never moves backward. The pawn is weaker than any piece: its value is taken as one, and all the other pieces are measured in pawns.
How the pawn captures
A pawn captures differently from the way it moves, and that sets it apart from all the other pieces. It moves straight ahead but captures diagonally, one square forward. A pawn on the edge of the board can capture on only one square. A pawn never captures backward.
What blocks a pawn
A pawn can’t jump over pieces, and it can’t capture a piece standing directly in front of it: any piece ahead, its own or the opponent’s, stops it. A pawn can open its way by capturing diagonally. If two or three pawns of the same color stand one behind another on the same file (doubled or tripled pawns), only the front one can move forward.
What is en passant
A special rule for pawns. If a pawn moves two squares and passes over a square attacked by an opponent’s pawn, that pawn may capture it as if it had moved only one square. This must be done immediately, on the very next move; after that, the right is lost.
Pawn promotion
When a pawn reaches the last rank (the 8th for White, the 1st for Black), it must turn into a queen, rook, bishop or knight, whichever the player chooses, even if that piece is already on the board. A pawn can’t become a king. The queen is almost always the choice.
Moving, capturing and attacking with pawns
Exercises that combine everything: squares attacked by pawns, good captures, promotion, and using a pawn to attack two pieces at once.
Test yourself: exercises on everything you’ve learned
A mix of exercises on every topic in this stage. In the next stage: the king.