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Forking terminology

Forking terminology

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Let's say your white bishop moves to d4 and attacks a black rook on c3 and there is another black rook on b2. One of the rooks is lost and black loses the exchange.

Do you call that a bishop fork? It would be an obvious fork if your bishop on d4 attacked a rook on c3 and another one on e5 of course.

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Originally posted by homedepotov
Let's say your white bishop moves to d4 and attacks a black rook on c3 and there is another black rook on b2. One of the rooks is lost and black loses the exchange.

Do you call that a bishop fork? It would be an obvious fork if your bishop on d4 attacked a rook on c3 and another one on e5 of course.
I call it a skewer, although there are some encyclopedias that insist the piece at the back must be more valuable. (Edit: or maybe it's the piece at the front. I don't really care.)

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I'd still call this a Bishop Fork.



But this, where both hit pieces are of the same value, I call a Bishop Harpoon.

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Originally posted by homedepotov
Let's say your white bishop moves to d4 and attacks a black rook on c3 and there is another black rook on b2. One of the rooks is lost and black loses the exchange.

Do you call that a bishop fork? It would be an obvious fork if your bishop on d4 attacked a rook on c3 and another one on e5 of course.
WTF difference does it make what it's called? Play the frickin move if it wins and go on with life. 😞



Sorry I forgot my meds. I've heard spear, harpoon and skewer for that attack. Fork is incorrect as GP so keenly illustrated a true Bishop fork. A Bishop on d4 would also fork rooks on a7 and f6

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Originally posted by ChessPraxis
WTF difference does it make what it's called? Play the frickin move if it wins and go on with life. 😞



Sorry I forgot my meds. I've heard spear, harpoon and skewer for that attack. Fork is incorrect as GP so keenly illustrated a true Bishop fork. A Bishop on d4 would also fork rooks on a7 and f6
Shishkabob. Someone called it that once.

A nice, vivid term.

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Hi CP.

"WTF difference does it make...."

I doubt if it helps in thinking or looking for such moves but it helps when noting up a game.

I think this;

"....White cannot take the pawn because of the Bishop fork on e4."

Reads and explains better than;

"....White cannot take the pawn because of the Bishop double attack on e4."

I once saw a very lengthy argument on another site about what is a genuine fork.

The argument being, this is a genuine Bishop Fork.



...and this was not a Bishop Fork.



Quite a few people got involved, in the end someone asked what should
they call the second diagram. Nobody could come up with a better term
and that was the end of that one.

I guess the only piece that can claim to have a genuine fork is a pawn
and even then they cannot do it on the 'a' and 'h' files.

This is the bones of one of my OTB games, I was Black. (White to move.)




White played 1.Nd7


I spent a while wondering have I just been Skewered or Knight Forked?

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Originally posted by greenpawn34
Hi CP.

"WTF difference does it make...."

I doubt if it helps in thinking or looking for such moves but it helps when noting up a game.

I think this;

"....White cannot take the pawn because of the Bishop fork on e4."

Reads and explains better than;

"....White cannot take the pawn because of the Bishop double attack on e4."

I once sa ...[text shortened]... w - - 0 1[/fen]
I spent a while wondering have I just been Skewered or Knight Forked?[/center]
Forkewered. 😵

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"Fkewered." {ooo, that got passed the mechanical censor!}

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'Forkewered.' I like. Totally buggered is another.

There was an article in CHESS a few years back by some Grandmaster who
came up with a whole load of positions containing tactical tricks with no name.
I'll see if I can dig it out.

I've often thought that this trick deserved a name.


Black has just played Qb1+ and White replies Rd1 discovered check.

It's not your average discovered check as this move gets
the King out of check whilst at the same time giving check.

A Block Check? A Splatt Check? A Discovered Block Check?
And if it was a mate - what then?


Rd1 is checkmate. A Block Checkmate?

Here is one from an RHP game.

irfan21 - Bassman57 RHP 2008




There is your next challenge S.G.
From the inital position what is the quickest Block Checkmate?

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GP: "A Block Check? A Splatt Check? A Discovered Block Check? " Howbout "counter-check", and the analogous "counter-mate"--getting oneself out of check and in the same move giving check(mate).

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A Counter-Check. Yep. I can see that one being understood.


What can play 1.Nc3 Counter-Check or 1.Ke3 a Discovered Counter-Check.

Here 1.Nc3 would be a Double Counter-Check.



Got a smashing Counter-Check ending in mate.

gershompalma - beaver1949 RHP 2011 Game 8669527

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We have to find something to call "bounced check" or "rubber check".

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Originally posted by greenpawn34
'Forkewered.' I like. Totally buggered is another.

There was an article in CHESS a few years back by some Grandmaster who
came up with a whole load of positions containing tactical tricks with no name.
I'll see if I can dig it out.

I've often thought that this trick deserved a name.

[fen]5k2/8/3R4/2B5/8/8/5PPP/1q4K1 w - - 0 1[/fen]
Black ha ...[text shortened]... here is your next challenge S.G.
From the inital position what is the quickest Block Checkmate?
In Chess Problemdom, we call those "cross-checks". There are a few problems in which white exposes his own K to check because he has a cross-check answer for every one of them.

I'll see what I can find for shortest game with a cross-checkmate.

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Originally posted by Paul Leggett
We have to find something to call "bounced check" or "rubber check".
"Cheque" (Brit.).

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There is an old American joke that gets recycled every time we elect a new President:

Question: Why is it that when the President plays chess and attacks two of his opponent's pieces with one of his own, his piece is always on the first rank?

Answer: Because he only knows how to fork up.

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