How does a knight move in chess?
A horse or a horsey? Whatever you want to call it, you don’t call it a horse in chess, it’s called a knight. It is supposed to depict a medieval general riding his horse on the battlefield but somehow, modern piece structures have limited the knight to only the head of a horse.
The knight is the trickiest piece in chess as it moves very differently than other pieces and can deliver the dreaded fork or even a smothered mate.
Each player begins the chess game with two knights placed between the bishop and the rook, a knight has a value of three points, which makes it the same in relative value as a bishop but a lesser value than the rook.
The knight is one of the most powerful pieces on the chessboard due to its unusual movement. Understanding the basics of the knight can help you develop powerful openings at the beginning of the game and set you up for checkmate in the endgame.
How does a knight move in chess?
The movement of the knight is one of those things that makes chess seem complicated to many new beginners, so how does a knight move in chess?
The knight moves differently compared with other chess pieces. Though different pieces move in straight lines, horizontally, vertically and diagonally, the knight moves in an “L-shape”, it can move two squares toward any path in an upward direction followed by one square to the sides, or two squares toward any side, followed by one square upward. another unique characteristic of the knight is the fact that it that can get around any pieces by jumping or hopping over them, whether or not those pieces are dark or white. The knight can’t be blocked!
You capture opponents with the knight piece by replacing it on their square. Because of its L-shaped movement, a knight’s move alternates between two squares, a knight starting on a white square will constantly end up on a dark square, as well as the other way around.
Forks And Smothered Mates
A fork is when two or more pieces are attacked simultaneously. Even though this can be achieved by other pieces, the knight is the best-suited piece for this type of attack because it can attack multiple pieces that are more valuable than itself in a single move.
How to Use the Knight to Crush your Opponents
Though every game of chess is unique, there are a few basic knight ideas that can help you improve your strategy and become a better chess player.
Place your knight at the centre of the board. Unlike bishops and rooks, which can advance to the other side of the board in a single turn, knights have a limited range of possible moves and can only move three spaces at a time. As a result, knights are most valuable when they are in the centre of the board because being in the centre maximises the number of alternative moves that a knight may perform. A knight placed on the board’s edge can only attack three or four squares, whereas a knight placed in the centre can attack eight. A knight in the corner has only two options.
Seek out outposts. The middle of the board is where knights are most effective, but it is also where they are most vulnerable to attack from your opponent’s pieces. It’s a good idea to look for spots of the board around the centre that your opponent’s pawns can’t easily attack. Outposts are powerful centre squares that are not threatened by an opposing pawn. Holes in your opponent’s pawn structure are frequently excellent knight outposts. Occupying a powerful outpost can also stifle your opponent’s growth and become a critical component in an eventual attack on the king.
Develop your knights early on. When playing chess, many players want to develop their knights early in the game. It is the only piece that you can develop before your pawns. A white knight move could be the game’s initial move. Early development of your knight might help you gain control of the centre of the board. Knight moves are typically made before queen or rook moves. A quickly formed knight also allows you to castle early in the game, as chess rules need the knight and bishop to be developed before casting long, the queen also has to be developed when castling in her direction.
Be cautious of traps. Because knights have a limited number of manoeuvres, they are vulnerable to traps. A knight is on a light square, it must make the following move to a dark square. during the endgame, a knight on a light square at the end of the board would be vulnerable to a dark-squared bishop reducing the number of squares a knight might theoretically occupy, potentially leading to the knight being captured after a few moves.
Use forks to your advantage. Because of the knight’s unusual movement, they are particularly well-suited to executing a fork, which occurs when your piece assaults two of your opponent’s pieces at the same moment. For example, if you have a black knight, you can attack both the white king, queen and rook at the same time, even though both pieces are not close to each other.
Now, you have your answer to how a knight moves in chess and tips on how to use the knight to crush your opponent, check out Which Chess Piece can only Move Diagonally?
