Why do players below a certain elo (almost) always en passant?

Has anyone noticed that players below a certain elo (I'm 1300 blitz) almost always en passant, even when it's a bad idea?

I just played against someone who did this. On the next move I took their queen and they immediately resigned. To me, it was super obvious that I was trying to win their queen, but they still did it. Plus they weren't exactly under time pressure.

If you always en passant can you tell me why?

It's because en passant is kind of a joke with the chess community. They will do it because it's a funny pawn move.

Not just en passant, but any capture. Low rated players tend to capture whenever it's possible. En passant is even more attractive than a regular capture since it's rare and odd looking. Very new players might also do it to show off to their opponent that they're good enough to know the rule exists.

How often would low rated players get to play en passant?

Your opponent would probably be making his initial few en passant captures of his life - and is likely to be more elated (playing the en passant) than sad (because of the queen loss).

Exactly.

It might be the only chance they've ever HAD to capture en passant.

because en passant is forced duh you dont even know the rules

En passant is usually but not always good, just like recapturing, or promoting to a queen.

It's a meme

Maybe they thought you didn't know about en passant and they thought they were being clever taking your pawn.

I feel like they just think it's a smart rule and want to try it.

Beginners do this to put their opponent out of context; to sike them out.

Because they've been taught that it's forced - that you must do it even if it loses you the game.

En Passant is forced. You have to play it , even if that comes with the cost of losing the game

Reasons

1. They think it looks cool

2. They are trying to show that they are smart and knows the move

3. They are too obsessed with memes

4. They just learnt it (like people who just learnt scholars mate do it all the time)

If any move is the only legal move you can make, then it is forced.

So, if en passant is the only legal move you can make, then, as with any other move in thst situation, it is forced.

Otherwise, like any other capture, it is not forced.

This "en passant is forced" meme got started, it appears, because of an example that got circulated where en passant was the only legal move.

Dear beginners: you do not need to lose games because of this false meme.