View source for Pawn (chess)

{{short description|Chess piece}}
{{multiple image |total_width=280 |caption_align=center
 |image1=Chess piece - White pawn.JPG
 |caption1=White pawn
 |width1=1000 |height1=1722
 |image2=Chess piece - Black pawn.JPG
 |caption2=Black pawn
 |width2=1786 |height2=3186 
}}
The '''pawn''' (♙, ♟) is the most numerous and weakest [[chess piece|piece]] in the game of [[chess]]. It can move one vacant square directly forward, or one or two vacant squares directly forward on its first move, and can capture one square diagonally forward. Each player begins a game with eight pawns, one on each square of their second {{chessgloss|rank}}. The white pawns start on a2 through h2, while the black pawns start on a7 through h7.

Individual pawns are often referred to by the {{chessgloss|file}} on which they stand. For example, one speaks of "White's f-pawn" or "Black's b-pawn". It is also common to refer to a ''rook pawn'', meaning any pawn on the a- or h-files, a ''knight pawn'' (on the b- or g-files), a ''bishop pawn'' (on the c- or f-files), a ''queen pawn'' (on the d-file), a ''king pawn'' (on the e-file), and a ''central pawn'' (on the d- or e-files).

==Placement and movement==
{{col-begin|width=auto; float:right; clear:right}}	
{{col-break}}
{{Chess diagram
| tright
| 
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Initial placement of the pawns
}}
{{col-break}}
{{Chess diagram
| tright
|
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |pd|  
|pd|  |  |  |  |  |xo|  
|xo|  |oo|  |  |  |xo|  
|  |  |pl|  |oo|  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |oo|  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |pl|  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| A pawn can move to the square directly in front of itself if that square is not occupied. A pawn on its starting rank has the option of moving two squares in one turn.
}}
{{col-end}}
Each player begins the game with eight pawns placed along their second rank.

A pawn may move by vertically advancing to a vacant square ahead. The first time a pawn moves, it has the additional option of vertically advancing two squares, provided that both squares are vacant. Unlike other pieces, the pawn can only move forwards. In the second diagram, the pawn on c4 can move to c5, and the pawn on e2 can move to either e3 or e4.
{{clear}}

===Capturing===
Unlike other pieces, the pawn does not capture in the same way that it moves. A pawn captures by moving diagonally forward one square to the left or right, either replacing an enemy piece on its square (first diagram) or capturing ''[[en passant]]'' (second diagram).{{col-begin|width=auto; float:right; clear:right}}	
{{col-break}}
{{Chess diagram
| tright
| Example of regular capturing
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |rd|bd|nd|  |  |  
|  |  |  |pl|  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| The pawn may capture either the rook or the knight, but not the bishop, which blocks the pawn from moving directly forward.
}}
{{col-break}}
{{Chess diagram
| tright
| Example of capturing ''en passant''
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |xo|  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |xx|  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |pd|pl|  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| The black pawn has just moved from c7 to c5. The white pawn can capture it ''en passant'' by moving to c6.
}}
{{col-end}}

==== En passant ====
An ''en passant ([[French language|French]]:'' {{IPA|[ɑ̃ paˈsɑ̃]}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-09-24 |title=EN PASSANT {{!}} Pronunciation in English |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/pronunciation/english/en-passant |access-date=2025-10-01 |website=dictionary.cambridge.org |language=en}}</ref>'', lit. "in passing")''  capture can occur after a pawn moves two squares and the square it passes over is attacked by an enemy pawn. The enemy pawn is entitled to capture the moved pawn "in passing" as if the latter had advanced only one square. The capturing pawn moves to the square over which the moved pawn passed, removing it from the board.

An ''en passant'' capture can only be done on the move immediately following the double-step pawn advance. It is the only capture in which the capturing piece does not move to the square of the captured piece.<ref>{{harvnb|Hooper|Whyld|1996|pp=124–25}}. ''en passant''.</ref>
{{clear}}

===Promotion===
{{main article|Promotion (chess)}}
When a pawn advances to its {{chessgloss|eighth rank|last rank}} it can be ''promoted'' to a queen, rook, bishop, or knight of the same colour. The pawn is replaced by the new piece on the same move. The choice of promotion is not limited to pieces that have been captured; thus, a player could, in theory, have as many as nine queens, ten rooks, ten bishops, or ten knights on the board. Typically, a pawn to promoted to a queen, the most powerful piece. Promotion to a queen is known as ''queening'', while promotion to any other piece is known as ''underpromotion''. Reasons for underpromotion include [[chess tactic|tactical]] positions involving a [[knight (chess)|knight]] check, and avoiding [[stalemate]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pawn Promotion - Chess Terms |url=https://www.chess.com/terms/pawn-promotion |access-date=2025-10-01 |website=Chess.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Strategy==

===Pawn structure===
{{main article|Pawn structure}}

{{Chess diagram
| tright
|
|rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|bd|nd|rd
|pd|pd|pd|  |  |pd|pd|pd
|  |  |  |  |pd|  |  |  
|  |  |  |pd|pl|  |  |  
|  |  |  |pl|  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|pl|pl|pl|  |  |pl|pl|pl
|rl|nl|bl|ql|kl|bl|nl|rl
| Locked pawn chains in the [[French Defense]] after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5
}}
The ''pawn structure'', the configuration of pawns on the chessboard, determines the strategic flavor of a game. While other pieces can usually be moved to more favorable positions if they are temporarily badly placed, a poorly positioned pawn often cannot be so relocated. In addition, being the most numerous piece, the pawn structure restricts and directs the piece movements of each side.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pawn Structure in chess - Chess Terms |url=https://www.chess.com/terms/pawn-structure |access-date=2025-10-01 |website=Chess.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

Because pawns capture diagonally and can be blocked from advancing, opposing pawns can become locked in diagonal {{chessgloss|pawn chains}} of two or more pawns of each color, where each player controls squares of one color. In the diagram, Black and White have locked their d- and e-pawns.

Here, White has a long-term {{chessgloss|space}} advantage. White will have an easier time than Black in finding good squares for their pieces, particularly with an eye to the {{chessgloss|kingside}}. Black, in contrast, suffers from a {{chessgloss|bad bishop}} on c8, which is prevented by the black pawns from finding a good square or helping out on the kingside. On the other hand, White's central pawns are somewhat {{chessgloss|overextended}} and vulnerable to attack. Black can undermine the white pawn chain with an immediate ...c5 and perhaps a later ...f6.
{{clear}}

===Isolated pawn===
{{main article|Isolated pawn}}

{{Chess diagram
| tright
|
|rd|  |bd|qd|  |rd|kd|  
|pd|pd|  |  |  |pd|pd|pd
|  |  |nd|  |  |nd|  |  
|  |  |bd|pd|  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |bl|  |nl|  |pl
|pl|pl|pl|  |  |pl|pl|  
|rl|nl|bl|ql|  |rl|kl|
| Black has an isolated pawn on d5.
<!--The position after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Bd3 c5 5.dxc5 Bxc5 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.0-0 0-0 8.h3 Nc6 (Lhagvarsuren–Ulybin, Celjabinsk 1991)-->
}}
Pawns on adjacent files can support each other in attack and defense. A pawn that has no friendly pawns in adjacent files is an ''[[isolated pawn]]''. The square in front of an isolated pawn may become an enduring weakness. Any piece placed directly in front not only blocks the advance of that pawn but also cannot be driven away by other pawns.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Isolated Pawn - Chess Terms |url=https://www.chess.com/terms/isolated-pawn-chess |access-date=2025-10-01 |website=Chess.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

In the diagram, Black has an isolated pawn on d5. If all the pieces except the kings and pawns were removed, the weakness of that pawn might prove fatal to Black in the [[Chess endgame|endgame]]. In the [[Chess middlegame|middlegame]], however, Black has slightly more freedom of movement than White and may be able to trade off the isolated pawn before an endgame ensues.
{{clear}}

===Passed pawn===
{{main article|Passed pawn}}

{{Chess diagram
| tright
| From Fine & Benko
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|pd|  |  |  |kd|  |  |  
|  |pd|pl|  |  |  |  |pd
|  |pl|  |  |  |  |  |  
|pl|  |  |  |kl|  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| White wins with either side to move.
}}
A pawn that cannot be blocked or captured by enemy pawns in its path to promotion is a ''[[passed pawn]]''. Because endgames are often won by the player who can promote a pawn first, having a passed pawn in an endgame can be decisive&nbsp;– especially a protected passed pawn (a passed pawn protected by a pawn). In this vein, a pawn ''majority'', a greater number of pawns belonging to one player on one side of the chessboard, is strategically important because it can often be converted into a passed pawn.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Passed Pawn - Chess Term |url=https://www.chess.com/terms/passed-pawn |access-date=2025-10-01 |website=Chess.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

In the diagram, White has a ''protected'' passed pawn on c5 and Black has an ''outside'' passed pawn on h5. This position might appear roughly equal, because each side has a king and three pawns, and the positions of the kings are about equal. In truth, White wins this endgame on the strength of the protected passed pawn, regardless which player moves first. The black king cannot be on both sides of the board at once&nbsp;– to defend the isolated h-pawn and to stop White's c-pawn from advancing to promotion. Thus White can capture the h-pawn and then win the game.<ref>{{harvcol|Fine|Benko|2003|p=56}}</ref>
{{clear}}

===Doubled pawn===
{{main article|Doubled pawns}}

{{Chess diagram
| tright
|
|rd|  |bd|kd|  |bd|  |rd
|pd|pd|pd|  |  |pd|pd|pd
|  |  |pd|  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |pl|nd|  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |nl|  |  |nl|  |  
|pl|pl|pl|  |  |pl|pl|pl
|rl|  |bl|  |  |rl|kl| 
| Black has doubled c-pawns.
}}
After a capture with a pawn, a player may end up with two pawns on the same {{chessgloss|file}}, called ''[[doubled pawns]]''. Doubled pawns are substantially weaker than pawns that are side by side, because they cannot defend each other or both be defended by adjacent pawns, and the front pawn blocks the advance of the back one. In the diagram, the doubled c-pawns are a strategic disadvantage for Black.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Doubled Pawns - Chess Terms |url=https://www.chess.com/terms/doubled-pawns-chess |access-date=2025-10-01 |website=Chess.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

There are situations where doubled pawns confer some advantage; for example, the guarding of consecutive squares in a file by the pawns prevents an invasion by the opponent's pieces, and the side with doubled pawns typically has additional open files for rooks.

Pawns that are both doubled and isolated are typically a tangible weakness. A single piece or pawn in front of doubled isolated pawns blocks both of them, and cannot be easily dislodged. It is rare for a player to have three pawns in a file, i.e. ''tripled'' pawns.

===Wrong rook pawn===
{{Main article|Wrong rook pawn}}

In chess endgames with a bishop, a {{chessgloss|rook pawn}} may be the ''[[wrong rook pawn]]'', depending on the square-color of the bishop. This causes some positions to be [[draw (chess)|draws]] that would otherwise be wins.

==History==
The pawn has its origins in the oldest version of chess, [[chaturanga]], and it is present in all other significant versions of the game as well. In chaturanga, this piece could move one square directly forward and could capture one square diagonally forward.

In medieval chess, as an attempt to make the pieces more interesting, each pawn was given the name of a commoner's occupation:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://library.thinkquest.org/C001348/international/pieces/his_pieces_en.html |title=The history of the chess pieces |publisher=Library.thinkquest.org |access-date=2013-08-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121201114823/http://library.thinkquest.org/C001348/international/pieces/his_pieces_en.html |archive-date=2012-12-01 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*Gambler and other "lowlifes", also messengers (in the left-most file, that direction being literally [[wikt:sinister|sinister]])
*City guard or policeman (in front of the left-side knight, as knights trained city guards in real life)<ref>[http://toutfait.com/duchamp.jsp?postid=919&keyword= The Bachelors: Pawns in Duchamp's Great Game] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080313130903/http://toutfait.com/duchamp.jsp?postid=919&keyword= |date=March 13, 2008 }}</ref>
*Innkeeper (in front of the left-side bishop)
*Doctor (in front of the queen)
*Merchant or money changer (in front of the king)
*Weaver/clerk (in front of the right-side bishop, as they worked for bishops)
*Blacksmith (in front of the right-side knight, as they cared for the horses)
*Worker/farmer (in front of the right-side rook, as they worked for castles)<ref name="The United States Chess Federation">{{cite web |url=http://main.uschess.org/content/view/7001/132 |title=The United States Chess Federation |publisher=Main.uschess.org |date=2013-01-23 |access-date=2013-08-12}}</ref>

The most famous example of this is found in the second book ever printed in the English language, ''[[The Game and Playe of the Chesse]]''. This book, printed by [[William Caxton]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20393/20393-h/20393-h.htm |title=The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Short History of English Printing, by Henry R. Plomer |publisher=Gutenberg.org |date=2007-01-18 |access-date=2013-08-12}}</ref> was viewed to be as much a political commentary on society as a chess book.<ref name="The United States Chess Federation"/> 

The ability to move two spaces and the related ability to capture ''en passant'' were introduced in 15th-century Europe;<ref>{{harvnb|Hooper|Whyld|1996|p=124}}.</ref> the ''en passant'' capture spread to various regions throughout [[En passant#History|its history]]. The ''en passant'' capture intends to prevent a pawn on its initial square from safely bypassing a square controlled by an enemy pawn. The rule for promotion has changed throughout [[Promotion (chess)#History|its history]].

===Etymology and word usage===
The term ''pawn'' is derived from the Old French word ''paon'', which comes from the Medieval Latin term for "[[foot soldier]]" and is cognate with ''[[peon]]''. In most other languages, the word for pawn is similarly derived from ''paon'' (e.g., ''pionek'' in Polish), its Latin ancestor or some other word for foot soldier. In some languages the term for pawn is a name meaning "peasant" or "farmer", reflecting how the lower orders were conscripted as footsoldiers in wartime: Hungarian {{Lang|hu|paraszt}}, Slovene {{Lang|sl|kmet}}, German {{Lang|de|Bauer}}, Danish/Norwegian/Swedish ''bonde'', Latvian {{Lang|lv|bandinieks}}.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DoqUoDGPU6gC&q=bandinieks+latvian&pg=PA211 |title = Latvian-English Dictionary: Volume I A - M|isbn = 9781477163108|last1 = Zusne|first1 = Leonard|date = 2008-07-30| publisher=Xlibris Corporation }}</ref> In Irish, the term ''{{Lang|ga|fichillín}}'', a [[diminutive]] of ''{{Lang|ga|ficheall}}'' ("chess") is sometimes used, though the term "ceithearnach" ("foot soldier") is also used. In Thai the pawn is called เบี้ย (''bîia''), which signifies a [[cowrie]] shell or a coin of little value. In Turkish the pawn is called ''{{Lang|tr|piyon}}'', borrowed from the French word [[:fr:Pion|Pion]] in the 19th&nbsp;century.

Outside of the game of chess, "pawn" is often taken to mean "one who is manipulated to serve another's purpose".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of PAWN |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pawn |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=[[Merriam-Webster|www.merriam-webster.com]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=pawn |url=https://www.thefreedictionary.com/pawn |website=[[The Free Dictionary]]}}</ref> Because the pawn is the weakest piece, it is often used metaphorically to indicate unimportance or outright disposability, only having utility in the ability to be controlled; for example, "She's only a pawn in their game."

{{chess names|name=Pawn}}

==Unicode==
{{main article|Chess symbols in Unicode}}

[[Unicode]] defines three codepoints for a pawn:

<span style="font-size:190%;">♙</span> U+2659 White Chess Pawn

<span style="font-size:190%;">♟</span> U+265F Black Chess Pawn

<span style="font-size:190%;">🨅</span> U+1FA05 Neutral Chess Pawn

==See also==
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
*[[Backward pawn]]
*[[Chess piece]]
*[[Chess piece relative value]]
*[[Connected pawns]]
*[[Doubled pawns]]
*[[Isolated pawn]]
*[[King and pawn versus king endgame]]
*[[Passed pawn]]
*[[Pawn structure]]
}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|35em}}

==References==
*{{citation
|author=Barden, Leonard
|year=1980
|title=Play better chess with Leonard Barden
|publisher=Octopus Books Limited
|isbn=0-7064-0967-1
|page=11|author-link=Leonard Barden
}}
*{{citation
|author=Brace, Edward R.
|year=1977
|title=An Illustrated Dictionary of Chess
|publisher=Hamlyn Publishing Group
|isbn=1-55521-394-4
|page=213}}
*{{citation | last1=Euwe | first1=Max | author-link=Max Euwe | last2=Hooper | first2=David | author-link2=David Vincent Hooper | title=A Guide to Chess Endings | year=1959 | publisher=Dover (1976 reprint) | isbn=0-486-23332-4 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/guidetochessendi00euwe }}
*{{Citation
|last1=Fine|first1=Reuben|author-link=Reuben Fine
|last2=Benko|first2=Pal|author-link2=Pal Benko
|year=2003
|edition=revised
|title=Basic Chess Endings (1941)
|publisher=McKay
|isbn= 0-8129-3493-8
|title-link=Basic Chess Endings}}
*{{citation
 |last1=Hooper 
 |first1=David  
 |author-link1=David Vincent Hooper
 |last2=Whyld 
 |first2=Kenneth 
 |author-link2=Kenneth Whyld
 |title=The Oxford Companion to Chess
 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]
 |edition=2nd
 |year=1996
 |orig-year=First pub. 1992
 |contribution=pawn
 |page=294
 |isbn=0-19-280049-3 |title-link=The Oxford Companion to Chess 
 }}

==External links==
{{commons category|Chess pawns}}
*[https://www.chessvariants.org/piececlopedia.dir/pawn.html Piececlopedia: Pawn] by [[Hans Bodlaender]] and Fergus Duniho, ''[[The Chess Variant Pages]]''
 
{{Chess piece}}
{{chess|sp=us}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Chess pieces]]