The pawn, in spite of its limited power of movement, plays a most important
_role_ amongst the forces. The pawns are the rank and file of the array.
The pawn, is, so to speak, the _tirailleur_; it engages the enemy, advances
into the opponent's camp, and clears the road for the officers who follow
in its wake to the attack; the pawn is mostly the first victim, and in the
large majority of cases the pawn decides the game. Like the private
soldier, who is supposed "to carry the marshal's baton in his knapsack,"
the pawn may be promoted to the highest rank. If it reaches the "eight"
square, it may be converted, according to the choice of the player, into a
Bishop, Knight, Rook, or Queen. Even though the player has still his full
complement of pieces, any pawn may be so converted. Thus a player may have
at the end of a game as many new pieces as pawns reach the eight squares.
The pawn may only move one square at a time, straight forward on the file
on which it is placed, with the option of moving _two_ squares at first
starting. Thus in Fig. 3, section _a_, the pawn at K 2 has the {342} choice
of moving either to K 3 or at once to K 4. But the pawn _takes_ on
_diagonals_ only; thus, in section _b_ of the same figure, the pawn at K 7,
having the move, can take either the black Bishop at K B 8 or the black
Queen at Q 8, and in either case it must be converted into some piece of
its own colour (other than a King), according to the choice of the player,
when the converted piece will act immediately in its new capacity. It is
against the laws of the game to leave it still a pawn.
Black.
+-----------------------------------------------+
| | * * #Q | K8 | #B | | |
|-----------*-----*-----------------------------|
| | (c) * * | ^P | (b) | | |
|-----------*-----******************************|
| QR6 | * | | | | | |
|-----------*-----------------------------------|
| #P | ^P * | | | | | |
|************-----------************************|
| | | | * K4 | | | |
|******************-----*-----------------------|
| | #P | * * K3 | (a) | | |
|-----------------*-----*-----------------------|
| #P | ^P | (d) * * ^P | | | |
|-----------------*-----*-----------------------|
| | | * * | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------+
White.
FIG. 3.--The Pawn's Moves.
{343}
The pawn cannot move backwards nor sideways, but only forward along the
"file" on which he stands. The pawn is also restricted in his power of
taking. Thus any adverse piece or pawn standing on the adjacent squares to
a pawn (other than forward diagonals) cannot be taken. Pawns placed as
shown in section _c_ or _d_ of Fig. 3 could not take each other.
The pawn may also take "_en passant_," which means that if a pawn moves two
squares at starting, thus "passing" an adverse pawn which could have taken
it had it moved only one square, such adverse pawn has the option of taking
it as if it had moved one square only; but the taking _en passant_ must
form the next move of the adversary. Thus in section _c_ of the diagram,
supposing the black pawn to have just moved from Q R 2 to Q R 4, it may be
taken by the white pawn at Q Kt 5; the white pawn standing, after the move,
at Q R 6. Such a move would be recorded thus: P takes P _e.p._