Rules of Movement

The Knight moves in an L-shaped pattern.

A Knight can move from a square $(file_1, rank_1)$ to another square $(file_2, rank_2)$ only if the following condition is met:

This means the Knight must move either two squares vertically and one square horizontally, or two squares horizontally and one square vertically.

Unless restricted by the edge of the board, a Knight can move to 8 different squares from any given square.

• $(+2, +1)$: 2 files right, 1 rank up
• $(+2, -1)$: 2 files right, 1 rank down
• $(-2, +1)$: 2 files left, 1 rank up
• $(-2, -1)$: 2 files left, 1 rank down
• $(+1, +2)$: 1 file right, 2 ranks up
• $(+1, -2)$: 1 file right, 2 ranks down
• $(-1, +2)$: 1 file left, 2 ranks up
• $(-1, -2)$: 1 file left, 2 ranks down

Examples

e4 → f6

1. Start Position: e4 = $(5, 4)$
2. Target Position: f6 = $(6, 6)$
3. Calculation:
   • File difference: $|5 - 6| = 1$
   • Rank difference: $|4 - 6| = 2$
   • Result: ✅ Legal Move

d3 → f4

1. Start Position: d3 = $(4, 3)$
2. Target Position: f4 = $(6, 4)$
3. Calculation:
   • File difference: $|4 - 6| = 2$
   • Rank difference: $|3 - 4| = 1$
   • Result: ✅ Legal Move

c2 → e4

1. Start Position: c2 = $(3, 2)$
2. Target Position: e4 = $(5, 4)$
3. Calculation:
   • File difference: $|3 - 5| = 2$
   • Rank difference: $|2 - 4| = 2$
   • Result: ❌ Illegal Move

Other Special Notes

• Knights can jump over other pieces.
  • For example, when moving from g1 to f3, it can move even if there are pawns or other pieces on f2 or g2.
• A Knight always lands on a square of the opposite color to its starting square.