Knight fork

A knight fork is two opponent pieces that share a knight-attack square: from that square a knight would attack both. Royal pieces and loose pieces make the fork especially expensive.

The signal

Look for two enemy units a knight’s leap apart from a common square. Click both pieces of a pair (they get the same mark). If several pairs exist, mark each pair. Completeness is the habit, not finding the prettiest fork.

Why it is easy to miss in a game

Knight geometry is ugly compared with files and diagonals. The fork square is often empty and “doesn’t look like a threat” until the knight arrives. You just recaptured on a square that created the geometry. Puzzle knight forks start with the knight already almost there.

What WayChess trains

You mark fork pairs with feedback when a pair is not a legal double attack. This habit has a guest try. Compare bishop diagonal and vertical fork.

See all habits.