Tactics: Fork

A fork is an offensive tactic designed to attack 2 or more of your opponent's pieces from a single square.

• Any piece can perform a fork, (including the king) which makes the fork a prime weapon to keep in mind during game play. 

The purpose of a successful Fork Attack is to:

1. Attack 2 or more pieces with the goal of capturing one of the pieces.

Below are several diagrams of 
positions involving the fork tactic.

A green colored box represents the attacking piece(s)
A blue colored box represents the path of attack
A red colored box represents the target(s) of the attack

Diagram 1

Pawn fork against 2 knights  

Diagram 2

Knight fork against a rook and king 

Diagram 3

Bishop fork against 2 rooks  

 

Diagram 4

Rook fork against a queen and king

 Diagram 5

Queen fork against a king and rook

 Diagram 6

 King fork against a bishop and knight