Special moves – EN PASSANT 6 • ‘En Passant’ is a French phrase meaning “in passing,” and occurs when one player moves a pawn forward two squares on its first move to try to avoid capture by an opposing pawn; XX • A player can then capture “en passant,” as if the opponent had moved the pawn only one square on its initial move; • In the diagram, if either of the black pawns at a7 and c7 move forward two squares (to the dot), the white pawn on b5 can capture the opposing pawn on the squares marked X; • The capture has to be made immediately, otherwise the black pawn is safe from en passant capture for the rest of the game. Special moves – CASTLING (kingside) • A player may CASTLE once only during the game. This is a special, DOUBLE MOVE involving the King and Rook, and is designed to tuck the King away safely in a corner. Most games feature such a strategy . keeping the King in the centre of the board in the early part of the game is very dangerous; • To castle, a player moves his King two squares to one side from its initial position (on e1 or e8); on the same turn the Rook is moved to the square next to the King on Before the opposite side; In order to castle: – Neither the King nor the Rook involved may have moved before; – The King may not castle while in check; – The King may not castle past a square attacked by an enemy piece (“though check”); – There must be no pieces (of either colour) between the King and Rook. After MORE information: Go to the Irish Chess Union website, at www.icu.ie.