Learn How to Fork: Decisive Material Gain
This middlegame puzzle from the French Defense shows a classic tactical refutation built around a fork and a hanging piece. White’s knight is ideally placed to attack two valuable targets at once, and the opponent’s king cannot safely ignore the threat. The key idea is that active piece placement can outweigh static material, especially when the enemy king is exposed and major pieces are poorly coordinated. Once the tactic is triggered, White wins decisive material and keeps the initiative.