The knight  is a piece in the game of chess, representing a knight (armored cavalry). It is normally represented by a horse's head and neck. Each player starts with two knights, which begin on the row closest to the player, between the rooks and bishops.

The knight move is unusual among chess pieces. It moves to a square that is two squares away horizontally and one square vertically, or two squares vertically and one square horizontally. The complete move therefore looks like the letter L. Unlike all other standard chess pieces, the knight can "jump over" all other pieces (of either color) to its destination square. It captures an enemy piece by replacing it on its square. The knight's ability to "jump over" other pieces means it tends to be at its most powerful in closed positions, in contrast to a bishop. The knight moves alternately to light and dark squares.

The knight, along with the king and the rook, has the oldest defined movement of any chess piece, its movement being unchanged since the invention of chaturanga in India around the 6th century. Chaturanga is an ancient Indian strategy game that is an ancestor to chess.

A knight is approximately equal in strength and value to a bishop. The bishop has longer range, but is restricted to only half the squares on the board. Since the knight can jump over pieces which obstruct other pieces, it is usually more valuable when the board is more crowded (closed positions, and early in the game).

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