Chess Tactics - Predator at the Chessboard

Double Attacks

Knight Fork

Knights can attack (a) Unguarded pieces, (b) Higher valued pieces like R & Q. It can
jump over pieces to surprise the enemy.

Two cases of knight fork:

1. Potential Knight Fork​ - Square your knight needs to fork the enemy pieces
from is protected.
2. Forcing Moves​ - There is no potential fork, so we need to force the enemy
onto forkable square(s), usually with a check.

Seeing a ​Potential Knight Fork​:

1. Visualize the ​ring of 8 squares​ of a knight.
2. Knight and enemy pieces must be on ​same color squares​ for a fork to occur
on the knight’s ​next move​.
3. It is ​not​ possible to fork two enemy pieces on the ​same diagonal with one
square in between them​!
4. It takes ​3 moves​ to attack an enemy piece with our knight, both of which are
on the ​same diagonal with one square in between them!
5. An enemy piece can be attacked in ​at the most 2 ways, not more​. One way is
usually better than the other.
6. Everytime the knight ​moves​, it occupies a ​different colored square​.

Generic Advice:
1. Before attacking, be mindful of the ​defensive work​ your pieces are doing, and
how the upcoming attack affects the current defense.
2. When attacked, look for ​counterplay​ before falling into a defensive mindset.
Consider a ​capture​ rather than a retreat because ​sometimes the best defense
is a good offense​.
3. Look for​ forcing moves​, especially ​checks​ and ​follow up checks ​(Similarly,
captures and follow up captures).

Potential Knight Fork​ Advice:

1. When a forking square is ​guarded​, ​look more closely​… Is it really guarding? Is
it pinned? Can it be exchanged? Look for ​Potential Knight Fork Themes​.
 2. If a forking square is ​guarded​, we need to ask ​how many times​? Be sure to
account for all the guards​ and the ​corresponding forking themes​ available to
remove them.
3. The ​order​ of removing ​multiple guards​ (if there are many) is important! It
should be such that in the end, we do not have enemy pieces on ​non-forkable
squares​.
4. Defense​: If an enemy knight is placed dangerously close to your king, it is
unwise to initiate any exchanges ​without making sure any forking
opportunities will be created for it.​

Potential Knight Fork​ Themes:

1. Pinned guard​: The forking square is protected by a guard but it is pinned to
some other valuable piece (ex: King)!
a. Check what other enemy pieces are on the ​same line​ as the guard,
and exposed to attack if it moves.
b. If guard is ​not​ currently pinned, we need to ask if it will get pinned ​after
we make the forking move (i.e a discovered pin).
2. Exchange away the guard​: When the guard can be captured by one of our
pieces, enabling a fork on the next move.
a. When you capture a guard, the enemy ​need not recapture or recapture
in the way you like,​ so look out for ​alternative moves​ of your enemy on
capture of his guard, and see if it is still winning for you!
b. Look for ​all possible captures​ of the guard. You do not want to
exchange a higher value piece when you can ​achieve the same with a
lower value piece​ instead.
c. Sometimes when ​two guards​ are present, capturing one guard requires
recapture by the enemy using the other guard, to ​maintain the balance
of points,​ effectively putting both the guards out of commission, and
enabling a fork!
3. Distracting the guard​: When the guard cannot be captured but it is
overworked,​ defending another piece or a sensitive square.
a. Capturing a piece that the overworked guard is protecting is ​winning​!
The recapture of the piece by the guard enables the fork, and in case
the recapture is declined, you are up material anyway.
b. Distracting the guard by ​capturing a target​ of the fork: The ​guard​ itself
turns into a ​target​! If a guard of the forking square is also protecting a
target of the fork then capturing that target is ​winning​ because when
the guard recaptures it, it replaces the target with itself for a knight fork.
c. Sometimes multiple exchanges (distractions) might be needed to make
a fork work. In such a case, ​work backwards from a tactical idea to
several exchanges​ that are needed to make it work!
 d. Sometimes the guard is not protecting another piece but a ​sensitive
square​ (ex: A square next to the king, control of which could probably
lead to a mate). In such cases, we can distract the guard to guard that
sensitive square, enabling a knight fork!

Richer Ideas:
1. Combining knight fork and mating threats​: We can look for ​mating threats​ by
focusing on the enemy king. When your knight and a few other pieces are
close​ to the enemy king, look for ways to checkmate him. Thwarting a threat
of checkmate might enable a fork or vice-versa.
2. Always look for ​all possible ways to check the enemy king on the next move​.
Even if you do not find the fork in the beginning, the end sequence of possible
checks will probably lead you to identify a possible fork.