In the game of chess, which piece is the only one that can regularly jump over other pieces?
And the answer: knight.
Traditionally shaped like a horse, the knight moves in an L-shaped pattern over the chess board. It first moves two squares in one direction, and then one square in a perpendicular direction.
In chess, there's somewhat of a class hierarchy. The king is most widely accepted to be the most important chess piece, as the game hinges upon his capture, while the queen is the most powerful because of her striking range. After that, the bishop, knight, and rook each hold 3, 3, and 5 points respectively. Typically, the pawn is considered the lowest value piece, with just 1 point to its name.
In a game of chess, players will use the information about their pieces' values to make decisions regarding trades. The amount of points you will give up versus those which you stand to gain determine whether or not the trade is a good idea. Picture this: you stand to gain your opponent's knight (3 points) with your rook (3 points), but another knight anticipates taking your rook after the attack. However, you have another rook ready to take their knight, so in total you stand to win 6 points and lose 5 points, making a 1 point advance. During games of chess, such calculations are necessary to keep a hold on the progression of the game.
Learn more about the rules of chess below.
