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The knight's jump

The L-shaped move and the only piece that jumps.

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What a learner can do afterwards

  • Can explain The knight's jump

The lesson

The knight moves in the shape of the letter L. It goes two squares in one direction, then one square to the side. Trace it slowly the first few times.

The knight is the only piece that can jump. It can hop right over its own pieces or the other side's pieces and land on the far square.

Good to know

A knight always lands on a square of the opposite color from the one it left. A knight on a light square lands on a dark square.

Try it together

Put a knight in a corner and count its moves. Then move it to the middle and count again. It reaches many more squares from the center.

The knight moves in an L-shape, it can jump over other pieces, and it lands on the opposite color each time.

Watch it

Where it sits

Then practise

8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.

The knight's jump · Chess, ages 7 to 10 · LightMySky