--- title: "Fork in chess" url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/fork.md" canonical_url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/fork" last_updated: "2026-11-07" type: "reference" summary: "A fork is a move that leaves one of your pieces threatening two enemy pieces together. The geometry depends on the piece." related: ["https://georgelichess.com/glossary/knight-fork.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/royal-fork.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/pawn-fork.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/double-attack.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/pin.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/category/tactics.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md"] --- # Fork in chess > **For AI agents:** the complete index of GeorgeLiChess pages is [llms.txt](https://georgelichess.com/llms.txt). Every page is also served as markdown at its URL plus .md. A fork is a move that leaves one of your pieces threatening two enemy pieces together. The geometry depends on the piece. A fork is a move that leaves one of your pieces threatening two enemy pieces together. Because the opponent gets only one turn to respond, something usually falls. In practice: before each move, look for a safe square from which one of your pieces would attack two targets at once, knights above all, because a knight attack cannot be blocked. Chess is played one move at a time, and a fork turns that rule against the defender. You threaten two things with a single move, the opponent can repair only one, and the other is yours. The geometry depends on the piece. A [knight forks](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/knight-fork.md) from a [square](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/square.md) that touches up to eight targets and cannot be blocked, which is why it is the usual hero. A rook forks along its rank and file, a [bishop](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/bishop.md) along two [diagonals](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/diagonal.md), and a queen can combine all four lines. Pawns fork too, because a pawn that steps forward may eye two squares at once. Check makes any fork nastier. When one of the two targets is the king, the reply is forced and the second target is simply left alone. Even a fork of two knights is serious if the forking piece cannot be taken. Finding forks is a habit of asking where each of your pieces could land and what it would hit from there, with special attention to enemy pieces that share a rank, file or diagonal with an empty square you can reach. Defending is the same exercise from the other side: before you park two valuable pieces a knight's jump or a line apart, check whether a single landing square touches both. In the diagram White plays Re5. On the fifth rank the rook points at the knight on b5 and the knight on h5, and neither knight can [capture](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/capture.md) it. Black can rescue only one, so White takes the other with Rxb5 or Rxh5. Also called: double attack by one piece. ## Example position White to move plays Re5. The rook attacks the knights on b5 and h5 at the same time and neither knight can take it, so White wins one of them with Rxb5 or Rxh5. Position (FEN): `6k1/5pp1/7p/1n5n/8/8/5PPP/4R1K1 w - - 0 1` Also worth reading is [Decoy](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/decoy.md). A decoy is a tactic that lures an enemy piece onto a chosen square, usually with a sacrifice it has to accept, so that the piece can be forked, blocks one of its own lines or loses its old job. Also worth reading is [Desperado piece](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/desperado-piece.md). A desperado is a doomed piece that cashes in before it dies: it captures or gives check, taking the most it can from the position instead of being lost for nothing. A neighboring idea is [Greek gift sacrifice](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/greek-gift-sacrifice.md). The Greek gift sacrifice is a bishop sacrifice on h7, or h2 for Black, played as Bxh7+ Kxh7, followed by a knight check on g5 and the queen coming to the h-file to attack the exposed king. To see how often "Fork" or a pattern like it decides your own games, book a [first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book/first-lesson.md): George Li reviews your games and writes a study plan around what he finds. ## Related terms - [Knight fork](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/knight-fork.md) - [Royal fork](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/royal-fork.md) - [Pawn fork](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/pawn-fork.md) - [Double attack](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/double-attack.md) - [Pin](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/pin.md) ## Guides that go further - [How to choose a chess coach](https://georgelichess.com/how-to-choose-a-chess-coach.md): What to decide first, the questions to ask, what a first lesson should show and the red flags to avoid. - [How much does chess coaching cost?](https://georgelichess.com/chess-coaching-cost.md): Published rates for private, group and subscription chess coaching, with the source and the date of each. - [The first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book/first-lesson.md): A game review, a read on your level and a written study plan from George Li. [Book your first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book.md) and George Li reviews your games and builds a study plan around them. Questions about lessons: write to hello@georgelichess.com. ## Related - [Knight fork in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/knight-fork.md) - [Royal fork in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/royal-fork.md) - [Pawn fork in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/pawn-fork.md) - [Double attack in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/double-attack.md) - [Pin in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/pin.md) - [Chess terms: Tactics and combinations](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/category/tactics.md) - [Chess terms glossary: plain definitions](https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md)