Definition:Chess/Rules/Capture/Pawn/Normal

Definition

Normal pawn capture is the usual way a chess pawn may capture a piece of the opposite colour.

If one of the $2$ diagonally adjacent squares towards the opposing player is occupied by an opposing piece, the pawn may move into that square and capture that piece.

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

In the above diagram, the white pawn on $\text c 5$ may:

move to $\text b 6$ and capture the black bishop

move to $\text d 6$ and capture the black knight

move to $\text c 6$ and capture neither.

The black pawn on $\text e 7$, however, may move only to $\text e 6$, as neither $\text d 6$ nor $\text f 6$ contain an opposing piece.

Assuming there are other legal moves available, of course, then both pawns also have the option of staying where they are.