Can a chariot or cannon fork multiple pieces the way a horse famously does?
These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws and is regression-tested against the official 110-diagram repetition casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it against the engine before publishing.
Direct answer
Yes, both can, though the horse's fork is the most famous because its unusual movement makes forks harder for opponents to see coming. A chariot forks simply by controlling a rank or file that two undefended pieces both sit on. A cannon forks by threatening a direct capture on one line while a screen it already has in place threatens a second target elsewhere.
Why chariot forks feel less special
Because a chariot's reach along ranks and files is already so well understood, a defender is more likely to see a chariot fork coming and prevent it in advance, whereas a horse's bent, screen-dependent move is genuinely harder to visualise several moves ahead. The mechanism is simpler for the chariot, but the surprise factor is usually lower.
Why cannon forks are the trickiest of the three to calculate
A cannon fork depends on two separate things being true at once, a clear capturing line to one target and a working screen for another, which makes it easy to miscalculate by overlooking that one of the two conditions has actually changed. Always verify both halves of a cannon fork independently before committing to it.
Related questions
Which piece forks most often in practice, in your experience?
The horse, simply because its move pattern naturally attacks multiple, oddly-placed squares at once; chariot and cannon forks are real but less frequent.
Is a fork always winning material?
Only if the opponent cannot defend both targets or counter-threaten something bigger; always check their best response before assuming a fork wins outright.
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