A fork is a chess tactic whereby a single piece makes multiple threats at the same time. Even though a fork is sometimes referred to as a double attack, they aren’t quite the same thing.
The Difference Between a Fork Tactic and a Double Attack
To be clear, a double attack is a broad term that refers to making multiple threats at the same time (with one or more pieces).
A fork, on the other hand, is when multiple threats are made by a single piece.
Any chess piece can perform a fork tactic, even the pawn, but it often involves the queen (because she can attack in many directions) or the knight (because of its unique movement in any direction).
5 Examples of Fork Tactics
The examples below will help you get a better understanding of fork tactics.
Fork Tactics | Example #1
White just played 1.Rd1, threatening to capture your knight on the next move. How should you respond?
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Solution
Comment:
The idea 1… Nf4+ only works because the pawns on g3 and e3 are both pinned, respectively by the queen on g6 and the rook on e8.
Royal Fork
Note: A fork tactic against a king and queen is known as a “Royal Fork”. And if you ever get the opportunity to fork a king and queen and rook, all at the same time, that would be a “Family Fork”.
Fork Tactics | Example #2
The next example illustrates that even simple forks can be very tricky, particularly when the knights are involved:
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Solution
Comments:
- If black takes the knight, 1… Rxc6? then 2.Rb8+ leads to a back-rank checkmate.
- From c6, the white knight also attacks the a7-square, which implies black can’t even play 1… Ra7 (to defend the e7-square).
Fork Tactics | Example #3
In the next example black can win a few points in material by playing 1… Nd3+ 2.Qxd3 Qxb2+. It seems good enough, but is there something even better?
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Solution
Comment:
When you see a good move (1.Nxd3), look for a better one (1.Qxb2!). Sometimes a tactical idea can be improved on by simply changing the move-order.
Knight Fork
Among amateur chess players, knights forks are notorious for being unexpected. This is because knight forks are harder to spot due to the non-linear movements of the knight.
Fork Tactics | Example #4
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Solution
Comment:
This tactic works because after 1… Qxg3 2.Kxg3 Ne4+, the pawn on f3 is pinned by the rook on e3. At the same time white can’t play 3.Kf2 (attacking the rook on e3), because white’s knight is on e4.
Fork Tactics | Example #5
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Solution
Comment:
The real beauty of white’s move lies in the fact that if black plays 1… Qxf5, then 2.Nxd6+ again forks the black king and queen!
I hope you enjoyed these fork tactics and that you will soon get the chance to use it against your opponent!