# Week 111: how to spot a knight fork before it lands

> Week 111: 15 games, 6 wins, 8 losses, 1 draw, 1242 → 1233. A knight fork on f2 again, a fork I could have played myself, and a won ending drawn by stalemate.

- URL: https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2026-w13/
- Updated: 2026-10-22
- Author: Ignacio Soler

Fifteen games from March 23 to 29, 2026, and the rating barely moved: **6 wins, 8 losses and a
draw**, **1242 → 1233** (−9). With White I scored 4–2–1; with Black only 2–6. The review had two
threads. The first is an old friend from week 106: a black knight landing on f2 after I castled
queenside and forking my rooks. The second is the mirror image, a fork *I* could have played. So
this week is about how to spot a knight fork, from both sides of the board — plus one game I'd
rather forget, a winning ending that I turned into a stalemate.

## The week in numbers

| | |
|---|---|
| Games | 15 (4 at 30 minutes, 11 at 10 minutes) |
| Wins / losses / draws | 6 / 8 / 1 |
| Rating | 1242 → 1233 (−9) |
| Average accuracy | 77.8 % |
| Blunders | 43 |
| Most played openings | Modern Defense with 1 e4 (2), Queen's Pawn Zukertort Chigorin (2), Indian Game (2), King's Indian Accelerated Averbakh (1), Accelerated London (1) |

Three of my wins and three of my losses ended in checkmate. Thirty-three of the 43 blunders were in
the middlegame. The strongest opponent was **Revati1987 (1438)**, a loss in 18 moves.

## The fork on f2 again: game 2012

A *knight fork* is a knight move that attacks two pieces at once. Knights are the classic forking
piece because their jump is hard to see and nothing can block it. Against **Maxmudjon8538 (1287)**, a
30-minute game, I castled queenside on move 14, Black's knight came to e4, and I played 16.Bd3. The
engine wanted 16.Rdf1, covering f2 (+3.04). After 16.Bd3 Nxf2 the knight attacked both my rooks.

> **Move 17: Black's knight on f2 attacks my rooks on d1 and h1**
> Position (FEN): `r1bq1rk1/pp5p/2p1p1p1/3pNn2/3P4/1QPBPN2/PP3nP1/2KR3R w - - 0 17`
> Played: Rdf1 — Rdf1 — rook from d1 to f1 attacks the knight
> Better: Qc2 — Qc2 — queen attacks the knight

At this point I'm losing a rook for the knight either way. The engine's line after 17.Qc2 is 17...Nxd1
18.Qxd1 and I'm still slightly better (+0.99). After 17.Rdf1 the knight takes the other rook, 17...Nxh1
18.Rxh1, and Black's second knight also takes my e3 pawn, 18...Nxe3 (−1.21). That's exactly what
happened, and the game ended with 35...Qxa2# ([game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/166357984742)).
I had 1572 seconds on my clock at move 17 — more than 26 minutes — and still didn't stop to ask where
that knight could jump.

## The fork I didn't play: game 2010

The same week I had the chance to be the one with the knight. As Black against **MRMREazy (1324)**,
in another 30-minute game, the position was level on move 16, and White's pawn on f4 was attacking my
knight on e5.

> **Move 16: my knight on e5 is attacked by White's f4 pawn**
> Position (FEN): `4rrk1/1p1b1pbp/1Npp2p1/p3n3/P3PP1q/1B5P/1PP1Q1P1/R1B1R1K1 b - - 0 16`
> Played: Be6 — Be6 — bishop attacks the bishop on b3
> Better: Nf3+ — Nf3+ — knight checks the king and attacks the rook on e1

16...Nf3+ is a fork: check to the king and an attack on the rook on e1. The knight can be taken, but the
engine's line shows why it still works: 17.gxf3 Qg3+ 18.Kh1 Qxh3+ with my queen close to White's king
(+0.19, about equal). I played 16...Be6, which attacks a bishop but leaves my knight hanging; the engine
answers 17.Bxe6 or 17.fxe5 (+2.53). My opponent resigned three moves later anyway, but that was luck
([game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/166331926882)). When one of my pieces is attacked, the first
question is whether it can move *with a threat* — and a knight with a check is the best threat there is.

## The stalemate: game 2017

Against **yougottaanticipate (1247)** I played 62 moves and made 12 blunders, the most of any game
this week. And yet I reached a king and pawn ending at +6.90, completely winning. On move 59 I pushed
my pawn, 59.d6, and the evaluation dropped to +0.37 in one move; the engine wanted 59.Kb5, going for
Black's a-pawn first. Three moves later, after 61.d7+ Kd8 62.Kd6, Black's king had no legal move and
it was *stalemate*, a draw ([game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/166494139450)).

## The lesson of the week

Knight forks are predictable: a knight can only jump to eight squares. When an enemy knight is in my
half of the board, I look at those squares and check whether any of them attacks two of my pieces or
my king plus a piece. In the London, with my king castled long, f2 is the square I keep forgetting.
And when my own piece is attacked, I look for a knight check before retreating.

## All games this week

| Game # | Date | Colour | Opponent (rating) | Result | Opening | Accuracy | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2026-03-23 | Black | MRMREazy (1324) | Win | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 82.0 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/166331926882) |
| 2011 | 2026-03-23 | Black | letschessplaynow (1246) | Loss | King's Indian, Accelerated Averbakh | 76.1 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/166341125308) |
| 2012 | 2026-03-24 | White | Maxmudjon8538 (1287) | Loss | Accelerated London | 81.9 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/166357984742) |
| 2013 | 2026-03-25 | Black | Revati1987 (1438) | Loss | Pirc, Classical Schlechter | 83.4 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/166410541746) |
| 2014 | 2026-03-25 | White | m-moumti (1211) | Win | Queen's Pawn, Zukertort Chigorin | 87.8 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/166415721254) |
| 2015 | 2026-03-25 | White | MadMaxJohn (1234) | Win | Old Benoni Defense | 72.8 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/166416211190) |
| 2016 | 2026-03-25 | Black | Yunnie521 (1264) | Loss | Nimzowitsch Defense, Williams | 54.0 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/166416640484) |
| 2017 | 2026-03-27 | White | yougottaanticipate (1247) | Draw | Indian Game | 62.6 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/166494139450) |
| 2018 | 2026-03-27 | Black | Sistah187 (1265) | Loss | Van 't Kruijs Opening | 74.6 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/166511252684) |
| 2019 | 2026-03-28 | White | Revolution-haiti (1216) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening | 88.2 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/166554377430) |
| 2020 | 2026-03-28 | Black | knightTrapper8 (1243) | Loss | Indian Game, East Indian London | 78.3 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/166556635522) |
| 2021 | 2026-03-29 | Black | Aslam-Askaryar (1236) | Loss | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 87.1 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/166577936046) |
| 2022 | 2026-03-29 | White | IDewaChess (1203) | Win | Queen's Pawn, Zukertort Chigorin | 93.8 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/166582523100) |
| 2023 | 2026-03-29 | White | kampretkabeh (1220) | Loss | Indian Game | 76.8 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/166592802144) |
| 2024 | 2026-03-29 | Black | Chessbrincando (1216) | Win | Modern Defense, Three Pawns Attack | 68.2 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/166603846094) |

Previous: [week 110](/journey/week-2026-w12/) · Next: [week 112](/journey/week-2026-w14/) ·
[The whole journey](/journey/) · [Review your own games like this](/features/ai-chess-analysis/)

## FAQ

### How do you spot a knight fork?

Look at the squares an enemy knight can reach in one jump and check whether two of your pieces, or your king and a piece, are both attacked from one of them. In game 2012 Black's knight on e4 could reach f2, which attacks d1 and h1, where my rooks stood after castling queenside.

### Can you prevent a knight fork?

Yes, by covering the square first. In game 2012 the engine's move was 16.Rdf1, guarding f2 (+3.04). I played 16.Bd3, and 16...Nxf2 forked my rooks.

### How did a winning ending end in stalemate?

In game 2017 I reached a king and pawn ending at +6.90 and pushed 59.d6 too early (+0.37). Three moves later Black's king had no legal move and it was stalemate.

## Related

- [From 631 to 1385: my chess journey in 2,117 games](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey.md)
- [Week 110 (Mar 2026): 30-minute games at 10-minute speed](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2026-w12.md)
- [Week 112 (Apr 2026): counting attackers before I capture](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2026-w14.md)
- [Free AI chess analysis of your games, explained](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/features/ai-chess-analysis.md)