Knight ending

A knight ending is a position in which knights are the main pieces left besides the kings and pawns. A knight reaches only nearby squares with each jump, so it may need several turns to move from one wing to the other. This limited speed can make a distant pawn race more dangerous than it would be in a bishop ending.

Knight far from the new front

The front shifts wings

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

a1

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

The black pawn has just reached a4 and a3 is its next advance square.

h2 is far in knight moves

The black pawn has just reached a4 and a3 is its next advance square. From h2, the white knight needs four legal jumps to reach a3; visual proximity does not replace that real distance.

1. The black pawn has just reached a4 and a3 is its next advance square.

A knight is often an effective blockader. It can stand in front of a passed pawn, meaning one with no enemy pawns ahead in its vertical column or the neighboring columns, stop its advance, and still attack other squares. Its value depends heavily on placement. A knight near the center can control up to eight squares, while a knight near the edge controls fewer and takes longer to return to the action.

Central knight and blockader

Blocking without becoming passive

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

a1

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

d4 performs two jobs

The white knight occupies d4, immediately in front of the black pawn on d5. From there it also attacks f5, so the blockade is not its only function.

Knight endings share several ideas with pawn endings. The kings must become active. Opposition, a relationship that uses the kings' spacing and move order to make one king yield ground, may decide whether a king can enter. A distant passed pawn may also pull a knight away from the other wing.

Knights add checks, attacks on two targets at once, and possible deliberate knight sacrifices to stop or enable promotion. Simply counting the pawn moves is therefore not enough.

What to compare

• Each knight's real distance from the critical area.
• Whether a stable central square is available for the knight.
• The activity of both kings and which one can attack pawns first.
• Whether a knight must be sacrificed for a pawn that is close to promotion.