Fork: queen to c5 (d6)
li-001wrnaming tag (square·N)Opens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 1013 ShuffleRating — club-player level.
Black to move — find the best continuation
How to recognize this tactic
A fork is one piece attacking two targets at once. Look for a knight, pawn or queen move that lands where it hits the king (or a bigger piece) and a second undefended unit on the same turn — the opponent can save only one.
General method: before you move, list the forcing candidates — every check, every capture, every direct threat — and calculate those first. The solution to a tactic is almost always among them.
Position on the board
White: king g1, queen d2, rook d1 e1, bishop c4 g5, knight c3, pawn b2 c2 g2 h2 f3 d5 a6.
Black: king g8, queen d6, rook a8 f8, bishop f5 g7, knight f6, pawn e5 b6 g6 a7 e7 f7 h7.
14 white and 14 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 18.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 35 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on g1, the black king on g8.
It is Black to move on move 18, with 40 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 7. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in. Half-open for Black: c, d.
The Black king has 1 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
18... Qc5+ 19. Kh1 Qxc4
Why it works
- Great move! queen to c5 keeps the pressure (+3.4).
- Well found: queen to c4 (+3.5).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead Kh1, then Qxc4 and you win the bishop.
Move by move
- 18… Qc5+ — queen to c5 with check
- 19. Kh1 — king to h1
- Qxc4 — queen to c4 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Royal fork
A fork with check: the king must move, and the second piece is lost.
A royal fork is a fork with check — one of the two targets is the king itself. The check must be answered first, so nobody is left to rescue the second piece. Look for squares where your piece gives check and simultaneously attacks an undefended queen or rook. It is the most reliable fork of all, because your opponent literally has no choice.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 006
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