Knight
The knight moves to one of the nearest squares that is not on its own rank, file or diagonal, an L-shaped jump, and it is the only piece that can leap over other pieces.
From the center of the board a knight attacks up to eight squares, two squares in one direction and one square at right angles. From a corner it reaches only two. Because the move always ends on a square of the opposite color, a knight alternates between light and dark squares. The Laws forbid bishops, rooks and queens from moving over intervening pieces, but they make no such restriction for the knight, so it can jump out of a crowded position and delivers forks and checks that are easy to overlook. A knight is at its best near the center and supported by a pawn, where it cannot easily be chased away; on the edge it controls few squares. Notation uses N. Compared with a bishop, a knight is slower across the board but cannot be blocked by pawns, so it often does better in closed positions. Teach yourself to see the knight's squares by drawing the pattern in your head from different squares. Most beginners miss a knight fork because they look along lines instead of at the jump.
Compare it with Disambiguation. Disambiguation is the extra letter or number added to a written move when two identical pieces can move to the same square, such as Nbd2 or R1e2, so the move reads only one way.
A neighboring idea is Pawn. The pawn moves one square straight forward, or two from its starting square, captures one square diagonally forward, and is exchanged for a queen, rook, bishop or knight on the far rank.
A neighboring idea is Staunton pieces. Staunton pieces are the standard design of chess set used in tournaments, with a distinct silhouette for each piece, and the design the Laws name for the specially made boards used by visually disabled players.
Knowing "Knight" is the easy part; what to practice next depends on your rating, and the improvement plans by rating band list the habits worth building at each level.
Related terms
The bishop moves any number of squares along a diagonal, as long as no piece stands in the way, so each bishop stays on one color of square for the entire game.
Chess pieces are the sixteen units each side starts with: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns; in everyday speech, though, piece usually means everything except the pawns.
The pawn moves one square straight forward, or two from its starting square, captures one square diagonally forward, and is exchanged for a queen, rook, bishop or knight on the far rank.
A capture happens when a piece moves onto a square held by an enemy piece, which is removed from the board as part of the same move; the king can be attacked but is never captured.
Disambiguation is the extra letter or number added to a written move when two identical pieces can move to the same square, such as Nbd2 or R1e2, so the move reads only one way.
Piece value is the rough points scale players use to compare material: a pawn counts one, a knight and a bishop three each, a rook five and a queen nine.
Guides that go further
What to decide first, the questions to ask, what a first lesson should show and the red flags to avoid.
How much does chess coaching cost?
Published rates for private, group and subscription chess coaching, with the source and the date of each.
A game review, a read on your level and a written study plan from George Li.
Sources
- FIDE Laws of Chess (effective 1 January 2023), Article 3.6, read Oct 21, 2026.
- FIDE Laws of Chess (effective 1 January 2023), Article 3.5, read Oct 21, 2026.
- FIDE Laws of Chess (effective 1 January 2023), Appendix C.2, read Oct 21, 2026.
Want to spot this in your own games?
A first lesson starts with your games: George reviews them and builds a study plan around what he finds.