Fork

What is a fork?

A fork is a move where one piece attacks two or more of your opponent's pieces at the same time. Your opponent can usually save only one of them, and you take the other.

The knight is the master of the fork, because it attacks in directions that are easy to miss. When it attacks king, queen and rook at once, it's often called a family fork. But any piece can fork, and so can a pawn: a pawn that steps forward and attacks two pieces, a queen that gives check and attacks an undefended rook at the same time, even the king.

Look for undefended pieces, and for the king and queen. They make the best targets, because they have to be dealt with first. Often the fork is prepared with a check or a sacrifice that forces a piece onto the right square.

How the puzzles work

There are 150 puzzles here. Choose a level above the board. Within each level the puzzles get harder and harder, and when you come back you pick up where you left off.

Your opponent makes the first move, then it's your turn. If you get stuck, Hint shows which piece to move, and Show the solution plays the rest. The theme only shows once the puzzle is done, but here you already know what you're looking for.

In Puzzle training you get puzzles in this theme at your own level, and see how you're doing in each theme.

More puzzles

• Mate in one
• Mate in two
• Mate in three
• Pin
• Skewer
• Discovered attack
• Double check
• Sacrifice
• Deflection
• Attraction
• Hanging piece
• In-between move
• Back-rank mate
• Smothered mate
• Promotion
• Endgame
• Rook endgames
• Pawn endgames
• Zugzwang

The puzzles come from Lichess, fetched on October 2, 2026.

Updated November 6, 2026