The pawn seems, to the beginner, to be rather insignificant. After all, it is worth only 1 point, the least of any of the other chessmen. However, pawns can be very important as you will come to appreciate. At the beginning of the game each side has 8 pawns. Except on its first move, a pawn may only move one square forward at a time.
Pawns can never move backwards.
However, it moves one square in all following moves. It is blocked. None of the pawns in this diagram can move. Although a pawn moves straight forward it captures by talking one square diagonally forward. In the diagram White can capture either the Rook or the Knight.