I mean, sure, the opportunity to use it can come up in low level play. But, I think the sheer number of folks who don't know the rule seems to suggest that it's beyond the scope of beginner play. And certainly it's not essential for basic play. As opposed to say promotions. If you keep pushing your pawn, and get it to the end but don't know that you can promote it, that's game breaking. But not knowing that you can take a pawn in a relatively rare circumstance can still keep the game going.