The Strategoi

Written by Julien L.
www.JLchess.weebly.com

Todays Chess Strategy: Fork (Double Attack)

In chess, a fork is a tactic whereby a single piece makes two or more direct attacks simultaneously. Most commonly two pieces are threatened, which is also sometimes called a double attack. The attacker usually aims to gain material by capturing one of the opponent's pieces. The defender often finds it difficult to counter two or more threats in a single move. The attacking piece is called the forking piece, the pieces attacked are said to be forked. A piece that is defended can still be forked, if the forking piece has a lower value.

The example above 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 the white queen and rook; after the queen moves away, Black will win the exchange.