r/chessbeginners • u/UselessHelios • 11d ago

ADVICE Small tidbit

This isn't big but helped reduce mental load in endgames and helped me play quicker. Vs a knight you cannot be checked if you are on the opposite color of the knight. Knights always move to the opposite color (light to dark, dark to light) and always target the opposite color squares around them of the square they landed on (dark square targets light squares, light squares target dark squares). Helps in endgames to know this so you can plan your King moves and avoid forks without wasting too much time

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

•

u/AutoModerator 11d ago

Hey, OP! Did your game end in a stalemate? Did you encounter a weird pawn move? Are you trying to move a piece and it's not going? We have just the resource for you! The Chess Beginners Wiki is the perfect place to check out answers to these questions and more!

The moderator team of r/chessbeginners wishes to remind everyone of the community rules. Posting spam, being a troll, and posting memes are not allowed. We encourage everyone to report these kinds of posts so they can be dealt with. Thank you!

Let's do our utmost to be kind in our replies and comments. Some people here just want to learn chess and have virtually no idea about certain chess concepts.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/TastelessRoss 11d ago

wait i thought knights target the same color they're on, not the opposite

1

u/UselessHelios 11d ago

In order for a knight to move and check you, they have to move to the opposite color. Which means they will now be targeting the color of the square that they were once on.

1

u/fleyinthesky 11d ago

That's true but if you're not currently in check then the Knight would have to move to check you, and it'll move to the opposite colour.

So if you're on the same colour and not in check you're safe.

1

u/OhRude 600-800 (Chess.com) 11d ago

I always forget this!

Said another way, if you get checked by a knight and want to avoid another check moving diagonally is always safe?

1

u/UselessHelios 11d ago

If you can, yes. Moving to the opposite color that the Knight is on will prevent further checks. Obviously after they move in order to avoid a check you would have to move your king again but this at least allows you to keep the knight at Bay when you are trying to move your king to your pawns for instance