Getting Started

Chapter 2. Getting Started

The following sections will help you become familiar with Knights quickly.

The Chessboard

If you've ever played chess before, then Knights' chessboard should be easy to understand. It always displays one player at the top of the screen and the other at the bottom. By default, your pieces always start at the bottom while your opponent's start at the top.

Directly below the board are two clocks. The left clock has a white background and always shows the time for the white player. The right clock is always black and shows the time for the black player.

Making a Move

To move a chessman, simply click the left mouse button while your pointer is over the chessman you wish to move. If it's your turn to move, the chessman will become highlighted. This lets you know that Knights is ready to move that chessman for you. Now, move your pointer to the position where you want your chessman to move to. Click the left mouse button. You've just moved your chessman!

You can also move your chessman using "Drag and Drop". Hold down the left mouse button over the chessman you wish to move and, while still holding down the mouse button, move your chessman to it's new position and release the button.

Using Preview

The Preview feature shows you where each chessman can move on a given turn. To use this feature, move your pointer so that it is over the chessman you wish to examine. Now, click the right mouse button. Any position which that chessman can move to will be highlighted. Moves which will result in a chessman being captured are colored differently.

If the chessman you are examining is yours, and it is your turn, you may go head and move him by left clicking on the desired square.

Tip

You can tell Knights to automatically preview possible moves every time you left click on a chessman. See the Display Settings chapter to find out how.

SAN Notation

You will notice that in the lower-right corner, there is a button which displays the last move using Standard Algebraic Notation ( SAN ). Clicking this button will display all the moves in this match. You can review a previous position by selecting it from this list. Another way to move through this list is to use the Up and Down arrow keys on your keyboard. This will step through each move one at a time.

Note

You can not make your next move while you are reviewing the match. You must return to the most recent entry in the list before you can make your move. If someone else makes a move while you are reviewing a previous position, Knights will automatically return you to the current position.

KDE Logo