3 Check Strategy: The Power of the Knight

In standard chess, Knights are typically less valuable than Bishops and Rooks. In 3 Check, however, Knights are generally more valuable than Bishops and can even be worth as much as (if not more than) Rooks as long as the position isn't too open and/or simplified. Does this mean that you should exchange Bishops and Rooks for Knights arbitrarily without a concrete reason? Well no, but you shouldn't underestimate the Knights unique abilities either.

Knight vs. Bishop Endgame

What is it about the Knight that makes it so good in 3 Check? For starters, the Knight, unlike the Bishop, can use the whole board. This is especially apparent in endgames when you have a lone Knight vs a lone Bishop. The side with the Bishop will have to constantly dodge Knight checks whereas the side with the Knight can easily avoid Bishop checks simply by keeping their King on the opposite color of the Bishop. The following game is a good example of this:

The Knight & Pawn Stranglehold

Like you saw last game, my opponent PikachuGambit employed a common positional set-up using their Knight and e-pawn. I call this the Knight & Pawn stranglehold because the Knight and pawn lock down on the enemy position and heavily restrict the mobility of the opposing pieces. This is so valuable that it's often better to not even go for the available Knight checks right away. Most strong players prefer to maintain the bind on their opponent's position for as long as possible.

Knight Windmill

To quote chess.com, "A windmill in [standard] chess (sometimes also referred to as a seesaw) is a tactic that occurs when one player takes advantage of a restricted king to deliver multiple checks and discovered checks in sequence. Doing so usually allows the player employing the windmill to capture enemy pieces, checkmate the opponent, or force a draw." 

https://www.chess.com/terms/windmill-chess

In 3 Check a Knight windmill is usually used to constantly threaten checks while capturing enemy pieces or force a draw. I've already shown the Knight "seesaw" draw and now I will show an example of a Knight annihilating an entire Kingside position using the support of another piece (often a Bishop).

Watch Out for Knight Forks!

I didn't think that an article about Knights would be complete without showing at least one example of a Knight fork. Knight forks are one of the last main advantages that Knights have over other pieces. Being able to attack 2 pieces simultaneously while neither piece can attack you back can be very valuable, especially when those pieces are the King and the Queen. Knight forks are some of the most basic tactics in chess, but even strong players will sometimes miss them like this last example shows: