The Knight is represented by a horse (which the Knight supposedly rides upon).
The Knight is considered a minor piece (being worth about 3 Pawns).
The Knight has the most unusual way of moving...
The way it moves can be thought of in many ways, such as a "T" or an "L". I prefer to think of it as a "Y".
The Knight is the only piece that can jump over other pieces. It can jump over both pieces of your own color, as well as those of your partner's color. Unlike checkers, the piece jumped is not captured. But if there is a piece on the Knight's final destination square, that piece is captured.
The "Y" shaped move, of course, emanates in all directions...
Giving the Knight a maximum of eight possible moves, and forming an octagon.
Notice that the Knight always moves to a color opposite to the one it is moving from. If it is on a light square it can only move to a dark square, and if it is on a dark square, it can only move to a light square. So, each time it moves it occupies a different colored square.
The most common object I can think of that's an octagon is a Stop Sign. So, in order to remember how the Knight moves, picture a medieval Knight in shining armor, pausing in bewilderment atop his horse in front of a modern-day Stop Sign.
Each player gets two Knights, and they are placed beside the Bishops.
What would White's best move be in this position?
(1. Nf7#)Note that we use an "N" to represent the Knight, because the "K" is already in use by the King.