Tactical patterns: the fork

Hello !

Someone once said that Chess is all about tactics, and certainly, the fork is one of the most common tactical patterns in Chess. This video explains how to recognize forks and how to take advantage of them.

Hope you will like it !

There are 2 tactics in chess.  One is  the fork.  The other is the pin.  There are many variations on the pin theme.  But the  bottom line is that the tactic is at its foundation a pin.

There are a lot of tactics not necessarily involving a fork or pin: the Discovered Attack, Double Check, Interference, Overloading, Attraction, Blocking, Zugzwang, Zwischenzug, and more plus the various mates: Dovetail Mate, Swallows Tail Mate, Escalator Mate, Double Bishops Mate, etc.

I challenge  you to provide a specific  example with a functioning diagram chess  board and pieces.

then give me a chance to analyze it

there's more than two. what about the skewer. similer to the pin but it's still different. and deflection. 

 you also have mating nets. and the zugzwang which is 

Of course there are more than 2 tactics types.

In both examples the K is pinned to the square that it is currently occupying.  Moving it from that square for any reason permits the tactical maneuver.

In the  second example with black to move he could  have drawn if he had played Ke6.

By that definition, you should argue that it's not a pin, but lack of activity that causes the tactic. I agree though, that the double-attack is the foundation of pretty much all the other tactics.

Ke6 on the first move. that doesn't work i've checked 

I hear what you're saying, feildsofforce. The fork, or in other words double attack, and the pin, or pin like tactics (pin, x-ray, skewer) are more or less the foundation for other well known tactics that are simply there to aid, or in one way or another, help lead to a pin or double attack.  Removal of the defender could be considered a double attack as well as a windmill, although I think it's more of a discovery tactic, could be considered both a double attack and a pin. I disagree though, I think there are plenty of tactical ways to mate for instance that have nothing to do with both. Discovered attack or en prise and deflection. These are well known tactics that can't be simplified and categorized as a fork or a pin. 

I tend to group fork and double attack together (and discovered attack is a double attack indeed), and pin and skewer as well.

All patterns have specificities. For instance each of my next videos will be about one of these patterns:

- fork (already done)

- pin

- skewer

- double threat

- discovered attack

- deflection

- zwischenzug

- removing the defender

- zugzwang

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After 1...Ke6 2.Kc5 Ke7 if  3.Kxd5 Kd7 draw.  No matter what White  does all Black has to do is to remain in one of  the squares adjacent to d7 so that when White captures the Black pawn on d5.  The Black K can move to d7 and then the game is drawn.  it is impossible for White to promote the pawn to d8.  As long has the Ks are in opposition with White to move.