Tactical motifs · Basic
fork
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The idea
A double attack delivered by a knight or a pawn. It gets its own name because these two pieces are especially dangerous.
A knight jumps over pieces: you cannot block its attack, you cannot put anything in its way. Once a knight attacks, you either move away or capture the knight.
A pawn is the cheapest piece on the board. When it attacks a rook and a queen, your opponent loses one of them while the pawn risks nothing — there is nothing worth trading for it.
How it looks
The classic case: a knight jumps to a square attacking the king and the queen. The king must move out of check, and the knight calmly takes the queen.
A pawn fork is simpler: the pawn steps forward and attacks two pieces standing side by side on the diagonals.
How to spot it
Learn the squares from which a knight would hit your most valuable pieces. Before each move, check whether the opponent's knight can reach one of them.
A warning sign: two valuable pieces on the same colour, close together. A knight moves in a way that reaches both easily.
Often confused with
A plain double attack: if a queen does it, it is a double attack, not a fork.