Catch the Knight on National Chess Day

A knight can hop over the traffic jam in front of it. That alone is usually enough to get a new player interested. Set out just one horse-shaped piece first and give it somewhere interesting to land.

National Chess Day falls on the second Saturday in October.

Holiday dates for planning

National Chess Day date reference

Set up your paper board

Put a light square in each player’s right-hand corner. Cut out the two sets of counters, keeping the light and dark sides apart. The back row reads rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, rook from White’s left. Each queen starts on her own color with the pawns lined up one row in front.

Jump to a target

For these missions, clear the board except for the white knight. Put a coin on the target square. Move two squares along a row or column and one across, in a single jump. Say the landing square aloud. The squares underneath the jump can be occupied.

Check the route

Try all three missions before uncovering the answer strip. Different routes can work. Ask the solver to trace each jump and check that the landing square changes color every time. When someone is ready to make a puzzle, let them choose the start and work backward from the target.

Get the free printable set

Catch the Knight includes three printable US Letter pages. Print a full chess set and learn the knight’s jump with three beginner missions and solutions.