Do you Suffer From Knight

Blindness?

Samantha212

| Jul 9, 2015 at 8:27 PM

| Posted in: Samantha212's Blog

| 1857 reads

| 9 comments

Hello Chess Fans,

Rooks go up/down and side to side. Bishops run on
the super highway of diagonals and Knights, well
they're a horse of a different color. Many players
suffer from Eques Caecitas - Latin for Knight
Blindness an
infliction
characterized
by
missing tactical advantages, forks and attacks
involving the knight or equally important, missing
tactical dangers imposed by their opponent's
knight.
If you suffer from occasional or regular Knight
Blindness read on to strengthen your Knight

Vision. Your
prescription
to
remedy
condition: Read twice and review as needed.

your

Knight Strengths

They move alternately to light and dark

squares allowing them to control squares of either
color.
They jump over pieces making them invaluable
in closed positions with LOCKED PAWNS.
They prefer the center where they control more
squares and can jump to either side at will.
They're better than bishops in an
endgame when all the pawns are on one side of
the board. Their ability to attack different colored
squares leaves no safe haven for the enemy king
or pawns.
They're able to unmask discovered attacks by
bishops, rooks and the queen.
They're a low valued piece that can be
sacrificed for other gains.

Knight Weaknesses
They can not "Lose a Move" to put their
opponent into zugzwang.

They're slow and short ranged in the endgame

when there are two passed pawns on opposite
sides of the board.

An opponent's pawns can take away their

outpost squares, making the knight ineffective.
Your
Mission: To recognize
Knight
Patterns that
1. Uncover Discovered Attacks
2. Fork Pieces
3.
Sacrifice
themselves "Kamikaze Style" to
Open a Diagonal for a decisive check or mate with
a queen or bishop.
If you're missing tactics involving the above then
your remedy is here. We'll break it up into three,
easy to swallow dosages of common patterns that
willsharpen your Knight Vision when they present
themselves
in
your
games.

DISCOVERED ATTACK PATTERNS:

The knight has the power to unmask attacks
by other pieces. We'll review the first one
together then you'll work through the rest on
your own.
In the position below, the knight in front of the
queen and rook should create immediate thoughts
of a discovered attack.

Discovered Attack with the Knight

1. Nh6+The knight checks the king

1... Kh8Retreats
2. Qxd7White picks up the queen
2... Rxf1+3. Rxf1The rooks exchange and Black is in a
lost position

f
J#,.@

White to Move

g:(

White to Move

g:(

White to Move

g:(

White to Move

g:(
White to Move

g:(

Bh5
White to Move

g:(

Evaluate the next position. There are many

discovered attacks. Is it ok to attack the
queen with the knight? Think Forcing Moves:

White to Move

g:(
Now that you're getting the hang of it, the next
three puzzles will challenge your knowledge
of Discovered Attacks with Knights. Your
Mission: Use your knight to get a decisive
advantage:

Black to Move

g:(
White to Move

g:(
Hint: Black's knight decoys the queen then
rips open the king's defenses with a bishop
sacrifice on the 5th move. Look for Forcing
Moves
on
the
queen.

Black to Move

g:(
To Review:

Closely examine your positions whenever the

knight is in front of two opposing pieces on a file,
rank or diagonal for possible discovered attacks.

Look for positions where you can use your

knight to Decoy your opponent's pieces to initiate
a forceful attack.

Whenever a knight can check the king from

multiple squares, examine your opponent's
response to each to decide which position will
accomplish your goals.

Before executing your Discovered Attack

examine whether your opponent can create Forcing
Counterplay that could "Turn the Tables" on your
attack.

I hope this has shed some light on Alleviating

Knight Blindness when it comes to Uncovering
Discovered Attacks. Look for the continuation of
the series when we tackle Knight Blindness and
Forking Patterns. Until then....Cheers.