# En Passant En Passant / Google En Passant is a chess catchphrase that took off as new players kept calling the capture a cheat after a legal pawn move caught them off guard. One of the earliest documented 'Google en passant' replies showed up in a 2016 comment chain under a speed chess video, and the line hit its biggest moment in January 2023 after the official Chess.com Twitter account's followers voted it the top tip to give beginners. ## Origin En passant is French for 'in passing' and lets a pawn that moves two squares from its starting rank be captured by an adjacent enemy pawn on the following turn, as if it had only advanced one square[1]. Chess has included the rule for roughly 400 years, making it the youngest move in the standard ruleset and one of the most confusing for new players[3]. Beginner tutorials rarely cover it, which is why online platforms kept getting player reports complaining that an opponent's pawn had somehow 'illegally' killed theirs[1]. On general-interest sites, the catchphrase started appearing in the mid-2010s. One early documented use of 'Google en passant' showed up in a comment chain under a speed chess video posted to The Chive on January 22, 2016[3]. - **Platform:** The Chive comments (earliest known use) / Chess.com and r/AnarchyChess (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2016 ## Overview Sarcasm drives the whole exchange: a player complains that their opponent 'cheated' by taking a pawn that just moved two squares, and someone replies 'Google en passant' instead of actually explaining the rule. Typical posts show a screenshot or short clip of the losing position next to text accusing the opponent of hacking or a software glitch. Chess.com staff writer Erik gathered four real bug reports of this exact type in a 2018 article, including one from a confused player whose c7-to-c5 pawn was taken as if it had stopped on c6[1]. Urban Dictionary defines the phrase as what 'goofy dumbasses' get told after they insist an en passant capture was an illegal move[2]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is En Passant? En Passant is a chess move where a pawn that advances two squares from its starting rank can be captured by an adjacent enemy pawn on the next turn, and the 'Google en passant' catchphrase is a sarcastic reply directed at players who call the capture a cheat[1]. ### Where did En Passant come from? The meme form grew out of years of confused bug reports to chess sites, with one of the earliest documented 'Google en passant' replies showing up on The Chive on January 22, 2016 under a speed chess video[3]. ### What does En Passant mean? 'En passant' is French for 'in passing,' describing how an adjacent pawn gets one chance to capture an opponent's pawn as it tries to slip past by moving two squares[1]. ### How do you use En Passant? People use 'Google en passant' as a sarcastic reply when someone complains that a chess opponent or AI cheated by taking a pawn through the move, instead of explaining the rule to them[2]. ### Is En Passant still popular? The catchphrase saw its biggest documented resurgence after Chess.com's own Twitter followers made it the top beginner tip on January 22, 2023, and it stayed a core /r/AnarchyChess reply format through the early 2020s[3]. ## References 1. [https://www.chess.com/article/view/his-pawn-cheated-and-killed-my-pawn]() 2. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=En%20Passant%20Google%20En%20Passant]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/en-passant-google-en-passant]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/en-passant-google-en-passant Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library