chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

, a fork is a

tactic Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to: * Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks ** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield ** Chess tactics ** Political tact ...

in which a piece multiple enemy pieces simultaneously. The attacker usually aims to capture one of the forked pieces. The defender often cannot counter every threat. A fork is most effective when it is forcing, such as when the king is put in

check Check or cheque, may refer to: Places * Check, Virginia Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Check'' (film), a 2021 Indian Telugu-language film * ''The Checks'' (episode), a 1996 TV episode of ''Seinfeld'' Games and sports * Check (chess), a thr ...

. A fork is a type of .

Terminology

A fork is an example of a . The type of fork is named after the type of forking piece. For example, a fork by a knight is a knight fork. The attacked pieces are ''forked''. If the King is one of the attacked pieces, the term ''absolute fork'' is sometimes used. A fork not involving the enemy king is in contrast a ''relative fork''. A fork of the king and queen, the highest material-gaining fork possible, is sometimes called a ''royal fork''. A fork of the enemy king, queen, and one (or both) rooks is sometimes called a ''grand fork''. A knight fork of the enemy king, queen, and possibly other pieces is sometimes called a ''family fork'' or ''family check''.

Strategy

Any piece can deliver a fork. Forks are most often delivered by knights: a knight is not attacked by a piece it attacks except for an enemy knight, and it can be exchanged for a more valuable piece. Since the queen is usually more valuable than the pieces it attacks, a queen fork gains material only when the pieces attacked are undefended or if one of them is the king and the other is undefended.

Game examples

This example is from the first round of the

FIDE World Chess Championship 2004 The FIDE World Chess Championship 2004 was held at the Almahary Hotel in Tripoli, Libya, from June 18 to July 13, 2004. It was won by Rustam Kasimdzhanov, who beat Michael Adams in the final by a score of 4½–3½. He won about US$100,000 and ...

between

Mohamed Tissir Mohamed Tissir (born 1976) is a Morocco, Moroccan chess player. Chess career He won the African Chess Championship in 1999, the Moroccan Chess Championship in 1996, 1999 and 2005, and has represented his country in a number of Chess Olympiads. He ...

and

Alexey Dreev Alexey Sergeyevich Dreev (, also transliterated as Aleksey or Alexei; born 30 January 1969) is a Russian chess player. He was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 1989. Career While being a promising young chess talent, he was for a period ...

. After :33... Nf2+ 34. Kg1 Nd3 White

resigned Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...

. In the final position the black knight forks White's queen and rook; after the queen moves away, Black will win the exchange.
This example is from the ninth round of the Clarin GP Final between Guillermo Soppe and Fernando Braga. After :40... Qh1+ White resigned. The only move is 41.Ke2 which enables a royal fork with 41...Nc3+, winning the queen. In the

Two Knights Defense The Two Knights Defense is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bc4 Nf6 First recorded by Giulio Cesare Polerio (c. 1550 – c. 1610) in the late 16th century, this line of the Italian Game was extensiv ...

(1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6) after 4.Nc3, Black can eliminate White's e4-pawn immediately with :4... Nxe4 due to the ''fork trick'' :5. Nxe4 d5 regaining either the bishop or the knight.

Terminology

Strategy

Game examples

References

Further reading