Knights and Queens — Chess Foundations, Lesson 5
Learn the knight's L-shaped jump and the queen's total range. Two of the most powerful chess pieces, explained with interactive examples.
This is lesson 5 of ten in Chess Foundations, a free beginner course from Endgame Society. Each lesson is short, written in plain language, and built around a board you can move pieces on while you read.
The tricky knight and the powerful queen.
The knight is the trickiest piece on the board. It moves in an L-shape: two squares in one direction and one square perpendicular (or vice versa). The knight is the ONLY piece that can jump over other pieces.
The queen is the most powerful piece. She combines the rook and bishop — moving any number of squares along ranks, files, or diagonals. Despite her power, she's worth about 9 points, while each knight is worth about 3.
A knight on d5 can jump to c3, e3, c7, e7, b4, f4, b6, f6 — always landing on the opposite color from where it started.
A queen on d5 combines rook and bishop movement — she can reach 27 squares on an empty board. Protect her well!
Work through the lessons in order and you will finish knowing how every piece moves, how games end, and how to plan your first few moves without memorising anything.
Our courses run from the rules of the board to endgame technique. Lessons are interactive: you read a short passage, then play the position out on a real board before moving on.
How Knights and Queens Move — Beginner Chess Rules | Foundations