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
Alfil (chess) Alfil (chess) An alfil (or elephant) is a xiangqi piece and fairy chess piece that jumps two squares diagonally. In many chess variants, but not in xiangqi, it can leap over intermediate pieces. The alfil jumps two squares diagonally, leaping over any intermediate piece. The alfil is a very old piece, appearing in some very early chess variants, such as Tamerlane chess and shatranj. The elephant in xiangqi moves like an alfil, but has additional restrictions involving where it can move. The piece was originally called an "elephant", and two of its alternate names were "hastīn" and "gāja", two Sanskrit