Fork: knight to d3 (e5·2)
li-003jHnaming 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 1065 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 f2, queen f4, rook c1 h1, bishop b2, knight d6, pawn a2 d2 g2 b3.
Black: king g8, queen h5, rook a8 f8, knight e5 b8, pawn f5 a7 g7 h7.
10 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 25.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 29 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on f2, the black king on g8.
It is Black to move on move 25, with 35 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: b, 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
25... Nd3+ 26. Ke3 Nxf4 27. Rxh5 Nxh5
Why it works
- Great move! knight to d3 keeps the pressure (+3.9).
- Well found: knight to f4 (+4.4).
- Strong! knight to h5 is the sharp choice (+4.5).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Ke3, then Nxf4 and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 25… Nd3+ — knight to d3 with check
- 26. Ke3 — king to e3
- Nxf4 — knight to f4 (capture)
- 27. Rxh5 — rook to h5 (capture)
- Nxh5 — knight to h5 (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 007
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