En prise (French for “in take,” pronounced on-PREEZ) describes a piece that’s exposed to capture — it’s attacked by an enemy piece and not defended, so the opponent can just take it for free. If your queen is sitting en prise, it means someone can grab it and you get nothing back.
You’ll hear commentators say a piece is “hanging” — that’s the everyday word for the same thing. Leaving a piece en prise (and having it snapped up) is the single most common way beginners lose material, and it never fully goes away: even strong players hang a piece when they stop paying attention for one move.
En prise vs. a fair trade
The word implies “for free.” A piece defended by another piece isn’t really en prise — if your opponent captures it, you recapture, and it’s just a trade. A piece is truly en prise when taking it wins material outright: it’s undefended, or it’s defended by less than what’s attacking it.
How to stop leaving pieces en prise
The fix is a habit, not a talent. Before every move, run a quick scan:
- “Is anything of mine hanging?” — check each of your pieces: is it attacked, and is it defended?
- “What does my move leave undefended?” — moving one piece can expose another.
- “What is my opponent threatening?” — their last move may have quietly put something of yours en prise.
Do that consistently and you’ll dodge the vast majority of “how did I lose that piece?” moments.
Related terms
- Blunder — often just a piece left en prise
- Fix the habit: how to stop blundering
- Common beginner mistakes — hanging pieces top the list
- Zugzwang — a subtler way a move can cost you
- Back to the chess glossary
Frequently asked questions
How do you pronounce en prise? Roughly on-PREEZ. It’s French — it literally means “in take” (i.e., available to be taken).
Is en prise the same as a hanging piece? Essentially yes. “Hanging” is the casual English term for a piece that’s en prise — attacked and not adequately defended.
Is a defended piece en prise? Not really. If capturing it lets you recapture, it’s a trade, not a free piece. En prise means it can be won for nothing.
Written and fact-checked by the Chess Lab Academy Editorial Team (AI-assisted, human-edited) · Definition verified against Wikipedia’s Glossary of chess; diagram checked with python-chess · Last verified 2026-07-13 · How we verify content.