In chess, a fork is a tactic 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 , such as when the king is put in check. A fork is a type of .
Terminology<span class="anchor" id="Royal Fork"></span><span class="anchor" id="Grand Fork"></span><span class="anchor" id="Family Fork"></span><span class="anchor" id="Relative Fork"></span><span class="anchor" id="Absolute Fork"></span>
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, while a fork not involving the enemy king is a relative fork.
A fork of the king and queen, the highest -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
While any piece can deliver a fork, knights are particularly effective as the forking piece because they cannot be captured by the non-knight pieces they attack, and as a they are less valuable than rooks and queens.
Compared to forks by other pieces, a queen fork requires more specific conditions to be helpful due to the queen's higher value. A queen fork can often lead to material or positional gain, however, when the forked pieces are undefended, poorly coordinated, or when one piece is the king.
Game examples
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This example is from the first round of the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004 between Mohamed Tissir and Alexey Dreev. After
:33... Nf2+ 34. Kg1 Nd3
White resigned. In the final position the black knight forks White's queen and rook; after the queen moves away, Black will win the exchange.
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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 (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.