Fork in chess
One piece, two targets. The fork is the most common winning tactic in chess and the first one worth mastering.
A fork is a single move that attacks two or more enemy pieces at once. The opponent can only save one, so the attacker wins material.
The types of fork
- Knight fork - the most dangerous, because a knight attacks squares no other piece can defend against and cannot be blocked. A knight on e6 hitting a queen on d8 and a rook on c7 wins on the spot.
- Pawn fork - the cheapest. A pawn push that attacks two pieces wins one of them, and the pawn is worth so little that the opponent almost never wants the trade.
- Royal fork - a fork that hits the king and something else. Because the check must be answered, the second piece is simply lost. The family fork (king, queen and rook, usually by a knight) is the famous version.
- Queen fork - the queen forks constantly, most often picking up a loose piece with check.
How to spot forks in your own games
Three habits catch most of them:
- Look for loose pieces - anything undefended. A fork needs two targets, and an undefended piece is always a valid one.
- Check every knight-move square near the enemy king and queen. Ask: if my knight stood there, what would it attack?
- When two enemy pieces sit a knight's-move apart from each other, there is a forking square between them. Find it, then work out how to get a knight there safely.
Most forks in real games are not spotted - they are created. A check, a capture or a threat that forces the opponent's pieces onto forkable squares is how strong players win material.
Defending against a fork
- Defend or move a loose piece before the fork exists.
- Watch the squares a knight could reach in one move, not just where it is now.
- If the fork is already there, look for a counter-check, a bigger threat, or a way to defend both pieces with one move.
Practise the fork
Reading about a pattern is not the same as seeing it under time pressure. The puzzle trainer serves rated positions taken from real games, adjusting to your level as you solve - and any puzzle you get wrong opens on the full analysis board in one click, so you can find out exactly what you missed.
Related tactics
Pin
A pinned piece cannot move without exposing something more valuable behind it - so it stops being a defender.
Skewer
A pin turned around: the valuable piece is in front, it must move, and the piece behind it falls.
Discovered attack
Move one piece and a completely different piece delivers the threat. Two attacks for the price of one move.
Frequently asked questions
What is a fork in chess?
A move that attacks two or more enemy pieces at the same time. Since only one can usually be saved, the player delivering the fork wins material.
What is the difference between a fork and a double attack?
They are almost the same idea. "Double attack" is the broader term for any move creating two threats - including threats of mate or promotion, not just attacks on pieces. A fork is specifically one piece attacking two units.
Which piece forks best?
The knight, by a distance. Its move cannot be blocked, and because it attacks squares of the opposite colour to the one it stands on, the forked pieces can rarely defend each other.