Knight fork exercises

A knight lands on a square touching two enemy pieces, and the attack cannot be blocked. Play the winning move on the board below. Each position is verified: the solution is the strongest move, and the write-up tells you exactly what it wins. Read the full knight fork guide first if the pattern is new to you.

Solved 0 of 6 · first-try accuracy 0%

1. Exercise 1: White to play: force mate.

   Position (FEN): b5k1/5ppp/8/8/8/8/1Kp1R3/8 w - - 0 1

   8

   7

   6

   5

   4

   3

   2

   1a

   b

   c

   d

   e

   f

   g

   h

   White to play: force mate.

   easy · forced mate

   Hint 1Show solution
   Written solution

   Re8# — Re8# forces mate. Every black reply runs into the same net, so the game ends on the spot.

2. Exercise 2: White to play: force mate.

   Position (FEN): n7/6P1/K4Nk1/8/1Q6/7B/8/8 w - - 0 1

   8

   7

   6

   5

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   3

   2

   1a

   b

   c

   d

   e

   f

   g

   h

   White to play: force mate.

   easy · forced mate

   Hint 1Show solution
   Written solution

   g8=Q+ — g8=Q+ forces mate. Every black reply runs into the same net, so the game ends on the spot.

3. Exercise 3: White to play: win material.

   Position (FEN): 1k1q4/8/P7/4N3/4R3/B7/5K2/8 w - - 0 1

   8

   7

   6

   5

   4

   3

   2

   1a

   b

   c

   d

   e

   f

   g

   h

   White to play: win material.

   medium · wins ~6 pawns

   Hint 1Show solution
   Written solution

   Nc6+ — Nc6+ wins about 6 pawns of material by force: the knight hits d8, b8 and Black cannot cover everything. The next best try, Rb4+, leaves the position roughly level.

4. Exercise 4: White to play: win material.

   Position (FEN): 8/8/3NK3/2r3kn/8/4n3/8/8 w - - 0 1

   8

   7

   6

   5

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   3

   2

   1a

   b

   c

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   e

   f

   g

   h

   White to play: win material.

   medium · wins ~5 pawns

   Hint 1Show solution
   Written solution

   Ne4+ — Ne4+ wins about 5 pawns of material by force: the knight hits g5, c5 and Black cannot cover everything. The next best try, Nb7, leaves the position roughly level.

5. Exercise 5: White to play: win material.

   Position (FEN): 8/8/8/1K6/8/1nr5/1N3k2/8 w - - 0 1

   8

   7

   6

   5

   4

   3

   2

   1a

   b

   c

   d

   e

   f

   g

   h

   White to play: win material.

   hard · wins ~5 pawns

   Hint 1Show solution
   Written solution

   Nd1+ — Nd1+ wins about 5 pawns of material by force: the knight hits f2, c3 and Black cannot cover everything. The next best try, Ka6, leaves the position roughly level.

6. Exercise 6: White to play: win material.

   Position (FEN): 8/2N1r3/6K1/2P2p2/8/2k5/8/8 w - - 0 1

   8

   7

   6

   5

   4

   3

   2

   1a

   b

   c

   d

   e

   f

   g

   h

   White to play: win material.

   hard · wins ~4 pawns

   Hint 1Show solution
   Written solution

   Nd5+ — Nd5+ wins about 4 pawns of material by force: the knight hits e7, c3 and Black cannot cover everything. The next best try, Na8, leaves the position roughly level.