King's pawn

The king's pawn is a pawn on the e-file, the vertical column on which the kings begin the game. In the initial position, White's pawn is on e2 and Black's is on e7. Modern writing also calls them e-pawns.

The name belongs to a traditional system that relates each file to the piece behind it at the start. The d-file gives the queen's pawn, the c- and f-files hold bishop pawns, and the b- and g-files hold knight pawns.

'King's pawn' does not mean every pawn on the kingside. The f-, g-, and h-pawns are on that side but have different names. The label also describes a file; if a pawn captures onto another file, a location-based description can change.

The king's pawn occupies the e-file

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

a1

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

The e-file contains the starting kings and the two pawns called king's pawns.

One specific file, not the entire flank

The pawns on e2 and e7 take their name from the kings on e1 and e8. The f, g, and h pawns are on the kingside, but they are not king's pawns.

1. The e-file contains the starting kings and the two pawns called king's pawns.
2. The f-, g-, and h-files belong to the kingside, but their pawns have different names.