How does a horse go about chess?
The horse is one of the most cunning chess pieces, which has a unique way of moving. The horse is rightly considered an insidious adversary who can “literally grow out of nowhere” and put a stupid checkmate. With the figure in the center, the player fires 8 cells at once, which gives him an impressive advantage in the game. Consider how the horse walks and how to use the figure to the maximum benefit.
Description of the figure
A horse is the only figure that is able to jump over others during its turn. This opens up great prospects for the player. A knight is equal in value to an elephant or three pawns.
You can evaluate the true strength of the horse during the height of the game, when almost all the central cells of the field are occupied. This limits the movement of other figures, but not the horse.
Please note that the horse should be developed at the beginning of the game among the first figures. A horse at the starting position is not effective. Even less useful is the horse, which is located in the corner of the game board.
How does a figure walk?
The figure walks with the letter “G” or the letter “T” divided in half. Consider a situation where the horse stands on d5, in this case he can go to one of the proposed cells marked in the figure. The trajectory of movement is highlighted in green, and the cells on which it can jump over are highlighted in red.
A horse located on c7 attacks several enemy figures at once. However, note that they are all protected. In other words, to beat one of the figures does not make sense without a clear strategy. Otherwise, you just go to exchange.
Consider the situation when the horses are at the initial stage and are not yet developed. The arrows indicate the possible variations of the moves, both white and black.
There are situations when the knight’s move is not rational, as is the case in the picture. All possible cells for the move are controlled by black pieces. In other words, the horse will be under battle. Therefore, before making a move, you must first cover the horse or leave it without movement until the enemy moves one of the pieces controlling the field.
It is recommended that the horse be developed in such a way that it occupies the center of the field, but is covered by another figure, or rather several.
The main feature of the horse is the ability to put stolen mat. This is a situation when the King is surrounded by his own figures and does not have the ability to move. The end of the game is set remotely, emphasizing the treachery and cunning of the horse. Combining stolen mat is recommended with one of the far-striking figures.
Key Features:
on its turn, the horse can change the color of the cage (you stood on white, and during the course the letter “G” became black);
the horse can jump over the figures, both his own and the opponent, which are located on the intermediate trajectories of his movement;
the attacked king will not be able to hide behind another figure from the attack of the horse, the only option is to move from the attacked cell. So, by the way, it is often possible to checkmate, harassing the King in an uncomfortable position, restricting his movements;
the horse is the only piece on the game board that can attack the Queen of the opponent, do not risk his own safety;
the value of a piece becomes greater when the movements of other long-range pieces (queen, elephant) are limited;
the horse can attack any opponent’s pieces without the risk of a retaliatory strike (provided that it is positioned correctly);
a horse can put a profitable fork – a situation when the enemy takes one of the pieces from you under battle without the possibility of “exchange”;
You cannot checkmate with one horse, but the chances of success increase significantly if you have a horse and an elephant. You can checkmate with two horses only if the opponent made a major mistake during the move.
Horse value
The main competitor of the horse is the elephant, it is equal to the horse in value. The figure is inferior in strength to the rook. However, one rook will be weaker than 2 knights. The “cost” of the queen is estimated at 3 knights. This value of the figure is conditional, since it all depends on the nuances of the location of the figures.
The value of a knight increases significantly if pawns of their color and opponent create closed positions and restrict the movement of the queen, bishop and rook. In this position, the horse’s strength will be greater than the strength of the rook.
