← Lessons6

Step 6: Tactics I + CCA · about 25 min

Forks

🖨 Worksheet🔑 Answer key🖨 Easy-reading worksheet

Goal: Kids can spot and play a fork: one piece attacking two enemy pieces at once.

You need: One board and set per pair · Optional: a real fork from the cafeteria for the demo

1 · Teach it (15 min)

Read these out loud, or put them in your own words. Show each board on screen or set it up on a demo board.

  1. 1.“A fork is when one piece attacks two enemy pieces at the same time. Your opponent can only save one, so you win the other.”

    👉 Hold up a real fork: one handle, two points.

  2. 2.“Knights are the best forkers. Here the knight jumps to e7: it checks the king AND attacks the queen. The king must move, and the queen is lost.”

  3. 3.“Any piece can fork, even a pawn. A pawn stepping between two pieces attacks both of them.”

  4. 4.“Forks with check are the strongest, because the king has to move first. Look for squares where your piece attacks the king and something big.”

With younger kids: Two targets, one attacker. Have kids name both targets out loud before they make the move.
Watch for:
  • Forking with a piece that can simply be captured.
  • Missing the opponent's fork threats (use CCA for them too).

2 · Play it: Fork Hunt (10 min)

Set up: Normal game in pairs, or the extra puzzles from this lesson.

  1. Play a normal game. Every fork you make scores a bonus point, even if it doesn't win anything.
  2. A knight fork scores two bonus points.
  3. Say 'Fork!' when you make one.

3 · Practice and pass check

On iPads, kids open Student → Step 6 → Forks: Two at Once. On paper, print the worksheet. A kid passes by getting 2 of 3 on the pass check. The pass code for this lesson is S6-L2-8N.

🧩 Extra puzzles: 60 real puzzles from lichess.org for kids who finish early: the Extra puzzles button in student mode, or tick Extra puzzles on the worksheet page (8 per set).

Practice (3) with answers

1.Find the knight fork. Draw an arrow or write the move.

abcdefgh

Move: Ne7+

2.Find the pawn fork. Draw an arrow or write the move.

abcdefgh

Move: e4

3.What is a fork?

  • Two pieces attacking one
  • ✓One piece attacking two
  • A special pawn move
Pass check (3) with answers

1.Find the fork. Draw an arrow or write the move.

abcdefgh

Move: Nc7+

2.Find the queen fork. Draw an arrow or write the move.

abcdefgh

Move: Qd8+

3.Find the fork. Draw an arrow or write the move.

abcdefgh

Move: d5

Topic order based on: Chess for Children, Part 5 (basic tactics); How to Win at Chess, ch. 7 (piece vision, tactics). All wording is original.