My knights invariably face to the side, simply because I pick them up by their heads, and that’s what happens. Which side they face toward is of no particular concern to me.
As loyal subjects, they start facing their king. In my opinion, it’s also more aesthetically pleasing.
I’ve never paid attention but I assume that I keep them facing the same way throughout the game. They may rotate, but they’re always facing one side or the other. I don’t adjust my opponent’s pieces though. He can place them however he prefers.
I used to know a kid who adjusted his opponent’s piece after every move. It didn’t matter if they were centered or not. At first, it bothered me. Then I learned to ignore him.
Years ago, I had a friend (a very aggressive attacking player) who started games with his knights facing forward. As soon as the opponent castled, he would adjust them to face the castled king.
– Hal Terrie
That kid has a j’adoube fetish. A piece cannot possibly be adjusted properly unless he was the last one to touch it.
I know somebody who adjusts his own piece after each move. He moves the piece, then presses the clock, then adjusts the piece he just moved.
One opponent finally objected. Although this particular opponent has a screwball reputation, in this case he certainly had a valid complaint, as the player was adjusting pieces on the opponent’s time.
Bill Smythe
I find that they are easier to grab for moving quickly if they are facing off to the side, and I have them both facing outwards.
I think this is completely awesome and I intend to do this next game I play.
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Cool 
Hmm, I wonder about that.
Rule 10F leaves everything open to debate. But I could suggest that 10F be tightened to forbid a player from adjusting any opponent’s piece that is well-centered on its square — when the player’s goal is merely to modify the directional orientation of the piece.
Bill Wong’s opponent should not be allowed to rotate Bill’s own homeward-facing knights 180 degrees (when the knights are well-centered).
[GM: I edited on Mon Dec/27 to add clarifying phrase “any opponent’s piece”, per Bob M. note.]
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Once, at the beginning of a game, I punched White’s clock, he moved, and I said “adjust”, tweaked the centering of some pieces and made my move. My opponent then said “J’doube” and proceeded to line up all his men on the corners of the squares. After we both cracked up, he re-centered them (while his clock was running).
It shouldn’t be against the rules to adjust the orientation of your own pieces, especially if you do it while it’s your turn to move. There’s already a rule against annoying your opponent. That should be enough, leaving it up to the TD to rule on what behavior is sufficiently annoying that it should be prohibited.
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Agreed, that is what I meant, but perhaps I leaned too heavily on the context to make that clear. So I updated my original reply to clarify.
Generally I disagree with this sentiment.
It is better to list predictable no-no’s, rather than put the TD into more situations where he has to weigh conflicting factors and explain himself. Let us avoid the player dissatisfaction that comes from losing a “judgment” instead of losing to a black and white written rule.
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For a player with OCD, determining whether a piece is “centered” can be a crucial decision. Having a TD make judgments on this could set off a terrible row, unless he is given full discretion to settle matters. OTOH, it is one of the “unwritten rules” of chess etiquette that a player is not permitted to adjust his opponent’s pieces except to center them. Changing their orientation - turning the knights sideways, or placing the bishop so that the slit in the bishop’s mitre points in a particular way - are particularly not acceptable. If you violate this “rule” be prepared for a whuppin’. You can, however, arrange your own pieces any way you like. Silliness in wasting your time like this is always acceptable.
I always place my Knights the correct way. How is that you ask? Well, one begins with each Knight facing straight ahead. Then you turn each Knight in toward the center of the board by exactly 45 degrees.
I recall at the Continental Open, I had black and was using my set and clock. I set the pieces up and went to the restroom before my opponent appeared at the board. When I returned a few minuted later, he had turned my Knights to straight ahead. I immediately corrected the position of my Knights which caused my opponent to grimace. It was downhill for him from there. It’s most important to get this right when you’re playing. 
I always orient the horses so that they are gazing adoringly at the queen. which means, for White, the ‘b’ horse is looking to the right, and the ‘g’ horse to the left. This is the only gallant and proper way to orient the knights and ought to be specified in the rulebook. It bugs me endlessly when people don’t seem to care which way the horsies are looking.
Why not? Maybe it’s my own ODC (the letters are facing back toward me) showing, but it’s his time and he gets to readjust the position. That’s always how I saw the rule – the moving player gets the courtesy over the one whose clock is not running. And then the opponent can readjust on his move. It makes chess a slightly more tactile game.
I had a tendency to adjust off-center pieces, and I never heard a complaint about it. But maybe it’s not considered OK any more.
I think I picked up the knights with fingers coming down onto the flat sides of the head and neck, so that determined how they ended up after I touched them.
So, the bold horse looks to the right and the gallant one to the left?
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Again I say — no player should have the right to adjust his opponent’s piece, when that piece is reasonably well centered on its square. (Adding Geurt Gijssen’s Q&A.)
2011/03/16
http://www.chesscafe.com/text/geurt155.pdf
Question (to Geurt) — Dear Geurt, Are there any rules on how to place the pieces on the board? I am especially thinking about the placement of the knights. To my great irritation, my last opponent placed his knights so they pointed straight forward. When he moved them, he again placed them so they pointed straight forward instead of “looking” to the side. Once, when my opponent had gone for a walk and I had made my move, I turned his knights to the side. When my opponent returned, he placed them “looking” straight forward again. I think it is more difficult to distinguish the forward-pointing knight from other pieces than the “side-looking” knight. Best wishes, Jeppe Nicolaisen (Denmark)
Geurt Answered — There are no rules how to place the pieces on the board, except that they must be placed in the center of the square. Especially when electronic boards and pieces are used, this (unwritten) rule is very important. In this case the board may “recognize” the pieces very well. Each player has his own habit regarding the placements of knights. Let me give some examples: Karpov’s knights look to the right side. Kasparov’s knights look to the left side. Ivanchuk’s knights are positioned pointing toward the center of the board. Your assertion that forward looking knights are difficult to distinguish is not very convincing.
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If my opponent re-orients my knights then the TD will receive an annoying behavior claim with the intent to get 2 extra minutes.
Don’t be a whiner like Jeppe.