Chess tactics
Chess Fork: One Move, Two Targets
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A fork is a move that attacks two or more targets at once. Knights and pawns create the most recognisable forks, but every piece can make a double attack. A fork wins material only when the defender cannot meet both threats, move one target while protecting the other, or find a stronger counter-tactic.
On this page
Fork: what it is and how it works
The knight is a natural forking piece because its attack cannot be blocked. A pawn attacks two diagonal squares; a queen, rook, or bishop can attack targets on separate lines; even a king can fork pieces in an endgame. A "royal fork" attacks king and queen, but the queen is won only if the checking piece survives and the queen has no tactical escape after the check is answered.
A check makes one branch of a fork forcing: if a knight checks the king and attacks a rook, the king must first get out of check. You still have to calculate the legal replies. The king may capture the forking piece, a defender may capture it, or the king may move to a square that also protects the second target. Without check, the defender may move one target with tempo, defend the other, or make a stronger threat.
How to spot it over the board
- Mark candidate squares from which a knight would attack two valuable pieces; do not rely on the targets' distance from each other as a shortcut.
- Scan for checks that also attack a loose piece, then calculate every legal reply to the check.
- Undefended or poorly placed pieces make useful second targets because they offer the defender fewer ways to coordinate.
- Price the whole exchange. A fork on a defended square may still work, but only if what you gain is worth what the forking piece may cost.
A common calculation error
Do not stop calculating when you see two attacked pieces. Check whether the forking piece can be captured, whether one target can move while saving the other, and whether an in-between check changes the move order. A defended fork square is not automatically bad, but its exchange must leave you ahead.
How hard are these puzzles?
This collection contains 146 fork puzzles, with a recorded median rating of 1393 and a dataset range from 721 to 2473. Puzzle ratings are estimates produced by results in their source pool; they can change and should be read as a guide for choosing practice, not as an objective measure of difficulty.
- Puzzles tagged
- 146
- Lowest recorded rating
- 721
- Recorded median
- 1393
- Highest recorded rating
- 2473
Fork puzzles to solve
These positions come from the LibreChess trainer and are ordered by the rating stored in this dataset. Play your candidate move on the board, then compare it with the listed solution and replay the continuation.
Worked example 1 — rated 721
Black to move. Find the fork, then reveal the solution.
36... Qxd2+ 37. Nxd2 37... Re2+ 38. Kf1 38... Rxd2Worked example 2 — rated 1155
Black to move. Find the fork, then reveal the solution.
30... Qf2+ 31. Kh1 31... Bf3+ 32. Qxf3 32... Qxf3+Worked example 3 — rated 1396
White to move. Find the fork, then reveal the solution.
31. Qxd5 31... Rxd5 32. Nf6+ 32... Kg7 33. Nxd5Worked example 4 — rated 1729
White to move. Find the fork, then reveal the solution.
40. Qxd4+ 40... Nxd4 41. Be5+ 41... Qf6 42. Bxf6#Worked example 5 — rated 2473
White to move. Find the fork, then reveal the solution.
31. Qxf5 31... exf5 32. Nxf5+ 32... Kf8 33. Nxd6 33... Rxe5 34. dxe5Keep training by rating
Choose a rating band as a starting point. If the positions are routinely immediate or opaque, move one band up or down; puzzle ratings are pool estimates rather than fixed grades.