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When did the pawn gain the option to move two squares on its first move?
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chess
Position of chess pieces at the beginning of a game. The pieces are placed on the two ranks closest to the player. In the closest rank, pieces are arranged from left to right: rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, and rook. In front of that rank, each square has a pawn.
The pawn had acquired the ability to move two squares on its first turn by 1300. While this rule appeared by that time, it did not gain general acceptance throughout Europe for more than 300 years.1
This initial two-square move is also the basis for the en passant rule, which allows a pawn to capture an enemy pawn that has advanced two squares on its first move, as if it had only moved one square.2