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I suffer from knight-phobia.
If I e.g. play white and black has knights on c6 and/or f6 I tend to play a3 and/or h3 as prophylaxis against knight coming to b4 and g4. I don't like them there. I start sensing a fork choke on my neck and loose concentration.
Am I nuts or is this normal? I feel like I am loosing tempo.
Do you have a therapy? Qd2? Keep on developing and react when time? Read an article by...?
This (Guide to P-R3) NM Dan Heisman Novice Nook is all that you EVER need to read to answer your question.
I remember my first steps when starting out with the game.
I was playing against a neighbor of mine who was much much stronger at that moment.
He used all of his units better than me, including knights.
In order to cure the phobia you currently have you must do the following:
You must learn your openings well, so you do not allow knight on b4/g4 to be a problem.
Knight jump on b4/g4 is not a good move in general, and only in some openings it can "pass" but as a defensive move.
As someone who has "been there", I advise you to just learn your openings very well, and you will be fine.
You can start with Starting Out-... books from Everyman Chess since they are suitable for beginner/intermediate level, and usually in them you can find some very good general advices related for other parts of the game.
Hopefully this will help you.
Best regards.
