Shogi glossary
Knight fork (fundoshi no kei)
Japanese: ふんどしの桂
In shogi, fundoshi no kei (loincloth knight) is a knight fork: the knight attacks two pieces at once, one on each side of the square two ranks ahead of it. The name comes from the shape the three pieces form.
A knight attacking two pieces at once, one on each side of the square two ahead of it.
How the knight forks
A shogi knight has only two target squares, both two ranks forward and one file to either side. Any fork it makes is therefore aimed at two pieces on the same rank, two files apart. A knight on 5d hits 4b and 6b at once, so a rook on 4b and a gold on 6b cannot both be saved. Because the knight jumps, nothing can be placed in between to block it.
A knight in hand can also be dropped straight onto the forking square, though never on the last two ranks.
Keeping the knight alive
A knight cannot move backward or sideways, so one that has jumped deep is easy to trap, especially by a pawn attacking it from the front. Check what protects it before forking: in the 5d example a Black pawn on 5e guards the knight.
Spotting the pattern
On defense, watch any two of your pieces standing two files apart on the same rank. Rook and gold side by side on the second rank are the classic victims.
Try it · from “Silver and Knight Tricks”
Jump the knight to fork two pieces.
FAQ
Why can't a shogi knight fork like a chess knight?
A chess knight attacks up to eight squares. The shogi knight jumps only forward, so its two targets always sit on one rank, which makes its forks easy to predict and easy to set up with a drop.
I don't do defense. Hope you brought a castle!
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