Bishop pawn

A bishop pawn is a pawn on the c-file or the f-file. A file is a vertical column of the board. The name comes from the initial setup: the bishops begin on c1 and f1 for White, and on c8 and f8 for Black.

Traditional terminology distinguishes the queen bishop pawn on the c-file from the king bishop pawn on the f-file. Modern writing usually says c-pawn or f-pawn instead. The label identifies a file, not a movement pattern: the pawn keeps the ordinary pawn rules and does not move like a bishop.

Bishop pawns on the c-file and f-file

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

a1

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

The c- and f-files contain the bishop pawns and the bishops that give them their name.

Each pawn shares a file with a starting bishop

The white pawns on c2 and f2 stand in front of the bishops on c1 and f1. The same relation appears for Black on c7 with c8 and on f7 with f8. The name identifies the file, not the pawn's movement.

1. The c- and f-files contain the bishop pawns and the bishops that give them their name.

This naming system also produces terms such as king's pawn and knight pawn. If a pawn captures onto another file, a location-based description of that pawn may change as well.