6 ms·

The OP refers to the fact that “en passant” is french for “in passing”, so the move sort-of refers to the idea that the pawn takes the other pawn while it is pa

The OP refers to the fact that “en passant” is french for “in passing”, so the move sort-of refers to the idea that the pawn takes the other pawn while it is passing through the third or seventh row, as if the capture starts while the previous move still is in progress. Also, the pawn can’t deliver checkmate, can it, if it can be taken en passant? It probably is possible to construct a position where taking en passant would bring the king into check in another way, but in those cases, the en passant move isn’t possible.

Supermancho 2y ago
Idioms do not have to be interpreted as literal, so I don't understand why anyone would think this. As I understand it: https://lichess.org/editor/rnbqkbnr/pp3ppp/8/3pp3/2pPP3/4K3/PPP2PPP/RNBQ1BNR_w_HAkq_-_0_1?color=white https://lichess.org/editor/rnbqkbnr/pp3ppp/8/3pp3/2pPP3/4K3/... the King is never in check, for the purposes of the game. The piece removed isn't in the destination square.
- bongodongobob 2y ago
  It's because pawns used to be able to move only one square. En passant was created when they were allowed to move two squares, sort of pretending that it only moved one square and is why you can only do it immediately after the first pawn move, kind of where the pawn "should" be.
vitus 2y ago
> Also, the pawn can’t deliver checkmate, can it, if it can be taken en passant? It probably is possible to construct a position where taking en passant would bring the king into check in another way, but in those cases, the en passant move isn’t possible. I believe I've managed to construct a situation where this is the case. The key is that the pawn that would be able to take en passant is being pinned (e.g. by a queen or rook) with the king directly behind it, such that the pawn cannot perform any captures. Then, you just need to make sure all of the squares adjacent to the king are threatened, and finally actually put the king into check via a pawn advancing two squares. Technically, the c4 pawn cannot be taken en passant (i.e. this is an illegal move) because it would expose the black king to a different check. But I think this is in the spirit of your question. Contrived game (which you should be able to import into https://www.chess.com/analysis https://www.chess.com/analysis or https://lichess.org/analysis https://lichess.org/analysis): 1. e4 d6 2. e5 Kd7 3. h4 Kc6 4. Rh3 d5 5. a4 d4 6. Raa3 Kc5 7. Rhg3 Kb4 8. Rg4 Qe8 9. Rag3 Qd8 10. Rg5 Kxa4 11. Rd3 Kb5 12. Ra3+ Kb6 13. d3 Kb5 14. Be2 Kc5 15. Bg4 Qd5 16. Rb3 Qe4+ 17. Ne2 Qxd3 18. Qxd3 Kd5 19. Rb6 a6 20. Nbc3+ Kc5 21. Na4+ Kd5 22. c4# Or, if you just want to see the end state: blob:https://www.chess.com/20486c7e-a582-41ef-9f1a-bb6fdea2ca36 https://www.chess.com/20486c7e-a582-41ef-9f1a-bb6fdea2ca36 (seems to work in Chrome, not in Firefox) (also: https://lichess.org/editor/rnb2bnr/1pp1pppp/pR6/3kP1R1/N1Pp2BP/3Q4/1P2NPP1/2B1K3_b_-_c3_0_22?color=black https://lichess.org/editor/rnb2bnr/1pp1pppp/pR6/3kP1R1/N1Pp2...)

Supermancho 2y ago

Idioms do not have to be interpreted as literal, so I don't understand why anyone would think this. As I understand it: https://lichess.org/editor/rnbqkbnr/pp3ppp/8/3pp3/2pPP3/4K3/PPP2PPP/RNBQ1BNR_w_HAkq_-_0_1?color=white https://lichess.org/editor/rnbqkbnr/pp3ppp/8/3pp3/2pPP3/4K3/... the King is never in check, for the purposes of the game. The piece removed isn't in the destination square.

bongodongobob 2y ago
It's because pawns used to be able to move only one square. En passant was created when they were allowed to move two squares, sort of pretending that it only moved one square and is why you can only do it immediately after the first pawn move, kind of where the pawn "should" be.

vitus 2y ago

> Also, the pawn can’t deliver checkmate, can it, if it can be taken en passant? It probably is possible to construct a position where taking en passant would bring the king into check in another way, but in those cases, the en passant move isn’t possible. I believe I've managed to construct a situation where this is the case. The key is that the pawn that would be able to take en passant is being pinned (e.g. by a queen or rook) with the king directly behind it, such that the pawn cannot perform any captures. Then, you just need to make sure all of the squares adjacent to the king are threatened, and finally actually put the king into check via a pawn advancing two squares. Technically, the c4 pawn cannot be taken en passant (i.e. this is an illegal move) because it would expose the black king to a different check. But I think this is in the spirit of your question. Contrived game (which you should be able to import into https://www.chess.com/analysis https://www.chess.com/analysis or https://lichess.org/analysis https://lichess.org/analysis): 1. e4 d6 2. e5 Kd7 3. h4 Kc6 4. Rh3 d5 5. a4 d4 6. Raa3 Kc5 7. Rhg3 Kb4 8. Rg4 Qe8 9. Rag3 Qd8 10. Rg5 Kxa4 11. Rd3 Kb5 12. Ra3+ Kb6 13. d3 Kb5 14. Be2 Kc5 15. Bg4 Qd5 16. Rb3 Qe4+ 17. Ne2 Qxd3 18. Qxd3 Kd5 19. Rb6 a6 20. Nbc3+ Kc5 21. Na4+ Kd5 22. c4# Or, if you just want to see the end state: blob:https://www.chess.com/20486c7e-a582-41ef-9f1a-bb6fdea2ca36 https://www.chess.com/20486c7e-a582-41ef-9f1a-bb6fdea2ca36 (seems to work in Chrome, not in Firefox) (also: https://lichess.org/editor/rnb2bnr/1pp1pppp/pR6/3kP1R1/N1Pp2BP/3Q4/1P2NPP1/2B1K3_b_-_c3_0_22?color=black https://lichess.org/editor/rnb2bnr/1pp1pppp/pR6/3kP1R1/N1Pp2...)