How the knight moves
The knight is the odd one out and the reason chess is not draughts. It moves in an L, it goes over anything in its path, and it is the only piece that can attack a queen without the queen being able to attack it back.
- Moves in an L
- Jumps anything
- 8 squares from the centre
- Worth about 3
Two squares in a straight line, then one square at right angles. That is the whole move, and it is easier to see than to read.
Eight squares from the centre
A knight in the middle of an empty board reaches eight squares. Count the dots: two up and one across, two across and one up, in every direction that stays on the board.
It jumps, and nothing else does
A knight does not care what is in between. It is not sliding along a line the way a rook or a bishop does, so pieces cannot block it, and it is the only piece in chess that can move on the very first turn of the game while every pawn is still in place.
Move one, over its own pawns
The knight on g1 in the opening position. Every square around it is occupied by White's own pieces, and it still has two legal moves, straight over the pawn wall.
A knight in the corner is worth half a knight
Because the move goes two squares out and one across, most of a knight's destinations fall off the edge of the board when it is near one. From the middle it hits eight squares. From the corner it hits two. Nothing else in chess loses that much power by standing in the wrong place.
That is where "a knight on the rim is dim" comes from. It is not a law, and there are perfectly good knight moves to the edge, but the arithmetic behind the saying is real and this diagram is it.
Two squares from the corner
The same piece in the corner, with the whole board empty in front of it, and it has two moves.
It changes colour every time it moves
A knight standing on a light square always lands on a dark one, and the other way round. That gives you a free way to check a knight move in your head from a distance: if a knight is on a dark square and you think it can reach another dark square in one move, you have made a mistake.
It also means a knight needs an even number of moves to return to where it started, and an odd number to reach a square of the other colour. Endgame players count this constantly.
Why the knight is the forking piece
A knight attacks squares that no other piece can defend against by standing in the way, and its targets never lie on a straight line, so the two pieces it attacks cannot protect each other. That is what makes the knight fork the most common tactic in beginner chess by a wide margin, and the reason a knight arriving near your king is worth a hard look every time.
Black to move. A knight is about to attack two things at once. Which square does it need?
Show the answer
27.Rxd5 27...Ne3+ 28.Kc1 28...Nxd5
The line ends with the pattern paying off in material. The position is from a real game on Lichess, rated 587 in their puzzle pool, and it is one of the positions in the Forks skill in the trainer.
Questions people ask
Can a knight jump over pieces?
Yes, and it is the only piece that can. A knight moves straight to its destination square regardless of what is standing between, its own pieces or the opponent's. The only thing that stops a knight is its own piece already sitting on the square it wants, or the move leaving its king in check.
How many squares can a knight move to?
Between two and eight, depending entirely on where it stands. Eight from the sixteen central squares, six from most of the next ring out, four near the edge, three on an edge square next to a corner and two from the corner itself, assuming an otherwise empty board.
Which is better, a knight or a bishop?
They are both worth about three pawns and which one is better depends on the position, which is why strong players argue about it happily. Knights prefer blocked positions with fixed pawns and a safe square to sit on. Bishops prefer open positions where the long diagonals are clear, and two bishops together are worth more than the sum of their parts.
Related
Knight sits under How the pieces move in the reference. Nearby:
- BishopDiagonals only, one colour forever
- Piece valuesWhat each piece is worth, and why
- OutpostA square in enemy ground no pawn can attack
- PawnForwards to move, diagonally to take
- Board setupWhich way round, and what goes where
- RookStraight lines, and it likes open ones
- QueenEverything a rook and a bishop can do
- KingOne square, and never into danger