The pin and fork refers to a clever move that places your piece in a situation which not only attacks one of your opponents' unguarded pieces, but two! This places your opponent in quite a predicament, since they must lose something. They only have one move, and so they may only retreat. Pins and forks are quite effective, but one must always keep a close watch on the layout of the board to watch for opportunities.

Some examples where you can use pins and fork are if the opponent has two unprotected pieces on a diagonal. Simply sliding a bishop into that diagonal will ensure capture of at least one piece; If the opponent has two unprotected pieces on a row then by sliding a rook in line with the two pieces will guarantee capture of one of those pieces; A knight may also line up two enemy pieces; Another very offensive pin and fork is where you put the opponent's king in check and at the same time are attacking another piece. The opponent must save their own king, and so you can capture their other piece with easily.

Defense: If for some reason you are ever caught in a pin or a fork, all hope is not lost. There are still some evasive maneuvers which are highly effective in destroying any advantage to your opponent.

Retreat and Reinforce - One piece retreats from your attacking opponent, but on its retreat, it moves into a position which will protect your other vulnerable piece. This effectively reduces the situation from being advantageous for your opponent to one of an exchange. If he does decide to follow through and attack your other piece, then you will be able to capture his piece, thereby maintaining equality on the board.

Take Someone Hostage - This saving technique, moves the attention somewhere else on the board. You attack one of your opponent's important pieces (protecting yourself, of course) somewhere else on the board. This distracts the opponent, who must retreat or defend their other piece. With a little finesse, you can also slide in a little defense for your attacked pieces and get yourself out of your unfortunate situation.