The Pawn

This lesson is about me, can you believe it?! The pawn is the smallest piece, but you can't get anywhere without us: we build the wall in front of our army. We only move forward, one square at a time, and there's no road back — so every step we take needs thinking through. But we capture differently from how we move: only sideways, diagonally. Beginners often try to capture with a pawn straight ahead — you can't do that, remember it right away!

Let's start with a simple step. The pawn on e2 wants to go forward — push it exactly one square. That's how pawns slowly grab space and clear the road for their pieces. Don't worry, nobody's going to eat us here!