Forks 🔱 and Double Attacks 🤛🤜 for Beginners

Forks

A fork is a tactic where a single piece attacks two or more enemy pieces simultaneously. The goal is to gain material or a positional advantage by forcing the opponent to choose which piece to save.

Double Attacks

A double attack is a broader concept that includes forks but also encompasses situations where two or more threats are created simultaneously, not necessarily by the same piece.

What is a Fork in Chess?

In Chess, a fork is declared when a single piece is attacking two or more pieces at the same time. The piece doing the attacking is called the forking piece and the opponents pieces being attacked as called the forked pieces.

For example, the Knight forked the enemy Bishop and Rook—the opponent only has one move before the knight captures either the Bishop or Rook, so the opponent choses to move the Rook to safety.

Types of Forks

There are many kinds of forks. We’ll go over how to fork with each piece.

Queen Fork

Rook Fork

Knight Fork

Bishop Fork

Pawn Fork

King Fork 

Queen Fork 

The Queen is one of the most powerful attacking pieces as it is worth ten points, or two Rooks. The Queen is often involved in double attacks and forks. This makes it rather easy to find a square from which the Queen can attack two other pieces by itself.

Knight Fork

The Knight is probably the piece that most commonly associated with the fork tactic because it is most often used for a fork. And when it you get forked by an enemy Knight, it hurts bad.

It is easy for the Knight to attack two pieces without being attacked at the same time because of its unique way in which it moves and the amount of squares they can cover in one or two moves.

Rook Fork

Getting double attacked with a Rook fork is rather easy to see but is also often overlooked, simply because it occurs less frequent.

The Rook is a valuable piece, valued at five points above the value of Knights and Bishops. However, the number of possibilities Rooks have for a fork double attack are the same as a Bishop.

Bishop Fork

In general the attacked pieces have to be more valuable or have to be undefended for a successful double attack. In addition the attacked pieces should not be able to capture the attacking piece unless this is defended and less valuable. Therefor most of the time a Bishop fork is aimed at a combination of the King, a loose Knight, a Rook and the queen if the bishop is protected.

Pawn Fork

The Pawn Fork is one of the most powerful forks in the game simply because you’re using the least valuable piece on the board to fork one or even two more valuable pieces. The piece value of a pawn is just one point. The pawn fork can allow you to trade a pawn for a much more valuable piece such as a Bishop or Knight that are worth three points. Also, if your pieces being forked by the pawn are defended, it doesn’t even matter because the pawn is worth less than the forked pieces by default.

Pawn Forks are also one of the most powerful forks because they sneak up on you. Pawns in general, aren’t seen as much of a threat. They move slowly. They lack mobility. They’re ignored in general because you’re too busy worrying about other pieces like the Knight. This is what makes missing the threat of a pawn fork easier than others.

King Fork

The last kind of fork in Chess is one that isn’t usually thought of when you’re discussing and even seeing a fork in a game. However, it’s for a good reason because this type is rare in Chess. In fact, this is such a rare fork that it’s not even mentioned in many Chess magazines or books.

How To Find Potential Forks in Positions

In order to get good at attacking with forks is to practice board awareness and spotting unprotected pieces. Only for the fork, it’s easier in general to spot opportunities than double attacks overall because a fork is a simple kind of double attack. Forks are made with just one of your pieces, whereas double attacks can involve multiple pieces

WHAT IS THE DOUBLE ATTACK CHESS TACTIC?

The chess tactic known as double attack is a tactic that involves attacking two or more pieces or squares simultaneously. The idea behind double attack is to force the opponent to make a decision on which piece to defend, while leaving the other piece open to attack.

What is the history of the double attack chess tactic?

One of the earliest examples of the use of the double attack tactic can be traced back to the games of the great chess player and chess theorist, Philidor. Philidor was known for his ability to use double attacks to gain an advantage.

How to execute the double attack?

The tactic is executed by a move called a “discovered attack” in which a piece moves out of the way to reveal another piece that can then attack the opponent’s piece. The idea is to use the movement of one piece to reveal another piece that can then attack the opponent’s piece.

Another variation of double attack is called a “double check” where the king is put in check by two pieces at the same time. This move is very powerful as it forces the opponent to move the king.

Another move that allows double attack is called “pin and skewer” where a piece is attacking an opponent’s piece and another opponent’s piece is attacking the same piece, forcing it to move.

What are the benefits of the double attack?

The double attack tactic can be effective when the opponent’s pieces are not yet developed and their king is not yet castled.