Chess Tactics: The Fork
Your chess pieces have the ability to attack or give threats to one or more opposing enemy pieces. Given this capability every player should be able to find many opportunities to use this any time during a chess game. One important chess tactic that incorporates this faculty of your chess pieces is called the fork. If you play chess to win then you should use this chess tactic when the occasion allows its execution.
A fork is a chess tactic that will come in handy and would serve different purposes during a game of chess. Basically, you execute a fork by moving a piece and put a threat to at least two, or sometimes more, opposing pieces on the board. The most obvious chess piece you can that is used to do this would be the Queen. But in fact, all your chess pieces (your Pawns included) have this capability.
The Knights are exceptionally effective having the capability to attack eight different chess pieces and jumping around the board making it quite hard to catch. Bishops of course will have the limitation of attacking only pieces that are positioned on squares on their designated colors. Rooks on the other hand are also huge sources of power when used to fork enemy pieces. The only drawback you'll find for Rooks is basically their inability to attack at diagonals.
You don't have to worry so much about the types of forks you'll hear from other players. Simply put, you'll know which piece was used since it will be mentioned by name. For example, you'll often hear what is called a Knight Fork. Obviously that is a fork that has a Knight attacking at least two pieces on the chess board.
Surprisingly even Pawns and Kings can be used by players to execute a fork. Though you'll seldom find the King taken out of a secure spot just to fork two opposing chess pieces. The common chess pieces used on forks are Queens and Knights. You can say that Bishops and Rooks are only auxiliaries in your army when a fork is concerned.
You'll come across what is known as a royal fork in chess. If ever your pieces are caught in one of these, you're in one of the worst situations in any chess game. A royal fork is where the King and the Queen are forked by an opposing piece. That simply means you'll lose your Queen if you don't eliminate the forking piece.
Forks are great tools when you play chess to win. This chess tactic applies the natural capacity of your pieces to attack two or more opposing pieces.