defence · recognise → explain → apply

Use a knight checking cycle

A knight can alternate between checking squares that the king cannot safely escape.

Explanation styleChoose any style. Age is not playing strength; no birth date is needed.

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Notes and replay positions are saved. Practice games are temporary; export their PGN to keep them.

Choose an example

Nakamura,Hi – Giri,A

FIDE Candidates 2016 · 2016.03.15 · 1/2-1/2

28. Ne7+ · Black to move

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What to notice at 28. Ne7+

The knight-check cycle at the end of the recorded game produces a draw.

A legally replayed historical example, not a claim that every move is best. A game’s result does not prove every defensive position was lost or drawn.

Game source ↗

Your thinking first

Name the signal, choose a plan, and test the opponent’s most challenging response.

What do you notice?What is your plan, and why?How could the opponent resist?

Recall and explain

1. Which knight checks repeat in the final sequence?

Explain it in your own words before revealing.

Make it memorable

A little knight can ring a very loud alarm.

Teach this to a friend in one minute. Then return to a different example and look for the same signal without being told its name.

Reflect and revisit

This is your self-assessment, not an engine grade or a promise of mastery.

Connect the ideas

Practise pawn transformations →

Sources and further reading

Original LumaChess teaching and game analysis. Topic references are credited below; no affiliation or endorsement is implied.

FIDE — Laws of Chess, Articles 5 and 9 ↗