Chess, Unit 1, Lesson 5 of 8

The pawn

About 1 min to read, then 8 practice questions

Forward only

One square straight ahead. From its starting square, one or two.

Capturing

A pawn captures one square diagonally forward. A piece straight in front blocks it.

Promotion

On the far rank a pawn becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight. Almost always a queen.

More on this

Pawns never move backwards or sideways. Black's pawns move down the board, towards rank 1.

Promotion is why a pawn near the far rank is so dangerous. There is one more pawn move, en passant, in Unit 2.

Practise this

8 questions, about 6 min

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