How the knight moves
Updated
A knight moves in an L shape: two squares in a straight line, then one square to the side. It is the only piece that can jump over other pieces, and it captures whatever stands on the square where it lands.
How the knight moves
Tap the knight on d4: it jumps straight over its own pawns to any of eight squares. Then try the knight in the corner, which has only two.
Count the knight's move as two squares in a straight line (up, down, left or right) and then one square to the side, making an L. You can count it the other way round too, one then two: it lands on the same squares. The knight is the only piece that jumps, so it doesn't matter what stands in between. That is why the knights, along with the pawns, are the only pieces that can move on the very first turn.
Two handy facts: a knight always lands on the opposite colour from where it started, and it reaches up to eight squares from the middle of the board but only two from a corner.
How the knight captures
The knight captures by landing on an enemy piece's square with its normal L-shaped move. The pieces it jumps over are not touched. Only the piece on the landing square is taken.
The knight's favourite trick: the fork
Because it moves in such an odd shape, a knight can attack two or more pieces at once from a square where none of them can hit back. That is called a fork. A knight fork on the king is especially nasty: the king must get out of check, so the other piece is lost.
Common beginner mistakes
- Knights on the edge. There's an old saying, “a knight on the rim is dim”. On the edge of the board a knight controls at most half the squares it would in the centre. Bring knights toward the middle.
- Miscounting the L. It is always 2 + 1, never 2 + 2 or 3 + 1. When in doubt, remember it lands on the other colour.
- Missing the opponent's knight. Knight attacks are the easiest to overlook because they don't run along a line. Before each move, check where the enemy knights can jump.
The bot who's still figuring out the horsey
Pip has, in Pip's own words, “just learned how the horsey moves”, and starts every game with “Hi!! I love chess. Which one is the horsey again?” Pip grabs pieces whenever possible and often leaves others unguarded, which makes Pip the perfect opponent for practising your first forks.
What the knight is worth
A knight is usually counted as worth about 3 pawns. These numbers are a rough guide for judging trades, not a rule: a piece's real value depends on the position.
The usual scale: pawn 1 · knight 3 · bishop 3 · rook 5 · queen 9. When it misleads:chess piece values.
Questions people ask
- Can a knight jump over pieces?
- Yes. The knight is the only piece that jumps. Pieces in between don’t block it, and it captures only the piece on the square where it lands.
- Why is the knight written N, not K?
- K is already taken by the king, so chess notation uses N for the knight, as in Nf3.
- How many squares can a knight reach?
- Up to eight from the middle of the board, but only two from a corner. That is why players say “a knight on the rim is dim”.
- Does a knight always land on the other colour?
- Yes. Every knight move goes from a light square to a dark one, or from dark to light.
Keep learning
- How the bishop movesDiagonally, any distance. It never leaves its starting colour.
- How the pawn movesForward one (two on its first move), captures diagonally, becomes a queen at the end.
- How chess pieces moveAll six pieces on one page, with a board to try them on.
- What is a fork in chess?One piece attacks two at once. Your opponent can usually save only one.