Fork — one piece, two threats
Master the most common and devastating tactical weapon in chess.
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How It Works — Step by Step
What is a fork?
The white knight on e5 attacks two black pieces at once: the rook on c6 and the rook on g6. Black can only save one — White wins the other.
Royal fork: king and queen
The knight on c7 delivers a royal fork — attacking the black king on e8 and queen on a8 simultaneously. Black must move the king, then loses the queen.
Pawn fork
White plays e5 — the pawn forks the black knight on f6 and the bishop on d6. Neither can capture it (the bishop is pinned; the knight would lose to exf6). White wins a piece.
Create the fork — coordination
Before a fork fires, pieces must be coordinated. Here White's knight on d3 can jump to f4, then e6 — a two-move fork setup. Planning ahead to create fork threats is as important as spotting them.
Find forks in my games
Kingsights scans your real games to find fork opportunities you missed — and forks your opponent played.
✓ Interactive boards ✓ Step-by-step ✓ Free forever