Attract the king into a knight fork

The knight cannot fork king and queen yet. A bishop sacrifice first pulls the king onto f7, where a forcing knight check creates the fork.

Lesson

White to move. Main line: 1. Bxf7+ Kxf7 2. Ne5+ Ke6 3. Nxd7

Bxf7+ is attraction: the bishop is offered not for immediate material, but to determine the king’s square. The king captures on f7 because declining leaves Black in check, and that forced placement changes the knight’s geometry.

Ne5+ then attacks both the king on f7 and queen on d7. The king must answer the check; after ...Ke6 the knight takes d7, and the rook on d1 protects it from a king recapture. White has exchanged a bishop for the queen.

When a fork is one square short, do not discard it. Ask whether a check or sacrifice can attract the king onto the missing fork square. Calculate through the final capture, including whether the forking piece can safely leave with its prize.