5 Tips to Knights in Chess

The Knight in chess represents an armoured cavalry unit and is usually a horse's head, causing many people to casually refer to it as the "horse." Each player has two Knights positioned at the beginning of the game between your rooks and bishops. The Knight has an irregular move; it can go two squares horizontally and one square vertically, or two squares vertically and one square horizontally. The result is an 'L' shaped movement. This style of movement is one of the oldest surviving ones from ancient chess-like games. The Knight is the only piece that is able to "jump" over other pieces while moving. It takes pieces by landing on them.

1. Knights are extremely useful pieces because of their irregular movement. Unlike Bishops, they can move from light to dark squares easily. Knights are the only pieces that can move at the beginning of the game before pawns move. Knights are are most powerful in the center of the board because there they have more options for movement. A Knight, unlike a bishop, cannot move long distances so they can be trapped easily if they are in a corner. Free them up in the center of the board in order to do the most damage with them and allow them to escape if they need to.

2. Knights are good at taking enemy pieces because of their movement, but once again be careful where you land. Knights are useless if they are stuck in a corner by enemy pieces. Many people consider Bishops and Knights about equal, with Knights slightly more useful because of their ability to change the color squares that they are on. Knights can make good backup pieces because they can defend from angles that no other piece can.

3. Knights are great for forked attacks, especially when the King is involved. Knights are the only piece that can check the King without being within a diagonal range for a counter attack. As a result, Knights can check Kings and then use the extra turn to take another piece. Knights are worth being sacrificed for any piece except for a pawn, depending on the part of the game that you are in. A Bishop for a Knight is often not a good trade, unless you are trying to lower the mobility of your opponent.

4. Knights are not particularly good at protecting your King because the King is safest in the corners, where Knights are weakest. For Knights, defense is only done offensively. Knights can be very weak against Pawns because of their nature of protecting one another and how numerous they are. A Knight in a board full of Pawns is like a tank in a field of land-mines. Because Pawns typically take up the center of the board, it's always a good idea (for a Knight's advantage) to take them out at quickly as possible.

5. Knights are excellent at early checkmates when the King is blocked in with his own pieces. In late checkmates, the Knight is best as a protective piece because his attack range is small. Knights are not as useful in endgame situations because of their limited mobility compared to pieces like Bishops. Pawns are difficult for a Knight to destroy, so it is a good strategy to be aggressive with a Knight as early in the game as possible. When the opposing King is protected though castling, a Knight is one of the few pieces that can check it without having to take another piece.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_(chess)