Nightrider (chess) Nightrider (chess) A nightrider (also known as a knightmare or unicorn, though the latter sometimes also means the bishop+nightrider compound) is a fairy chess piece that can move any number of steps as a knight in the same direction. The nightrider is often represented by a symbol similar to the knight's icon, but altered in a way to indicate the additional straight-line motion. In this article the nightrider is represented with an inverted knight, and notation N (in which case the "knight" is abbreviated as S for German "Springer"). The nightrider was invented by T. R. Dawson in 1925, and
Fairy chess piece Thus, the ferz is now considered a non-standard chess piece. Chess enthusiasts still often like to try variations of the rules and in the way pieces move. Pieces which move differently from today's standard rules are called "variant" or "fairy" chess pieces. Fairy chess pieces usually fall into one of three classes, although some are hybrids. Compound pieces combine the movement powers of two or more different pieces. An ("m","n")-leaper is a piece that moves by a fixed type of vector between its starting and destination squares. One of the coordinates of the vector 'start square – arrival square' must