Fork: queen to e8
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 1338 ShuffleRating — club-player level.
White 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 b1, queen e1, rook h1, knight g1 d5, pawn a2 b2 c2 d4.
Black: king f8, queen g4, rook e8 h8, pawn a6 d6 h6 b7 c7 f7.
9 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 24.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 1 points of material (24 against 25; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on b1, the black king on f8.
It is White to move on move 24, with 41 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: f, h.
The White king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
24. Qxe8+ Kxe8 25. Nf6+ Ke7 26. Nxg4
Why it works
- Great move! queen to e8 keeps the pressure (+5.2).
- Well found: knight to f6 (+5.3).
- Strong! knight to g4 is the sharp choice (+5.3).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kxe8, then Nf6+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 24. Qxe8+ — queen to e8 (capture) with check
- Kxe8 — king to e8 (capture)
- 25. Nf6+ — knight to f6 with check
- Ke7 — king to e7
- 26. Nxg4 — knight to g4 (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.
Mate defense
Mate is threatened — parry it and stay on top.
Mate defense: your opponent is one move from mating you — but it is your turn, and that changes everything. Find the defense that kills the mating threat while keeping your advantage: often a check or a counter-threat that leaves no time for the mate. First name the exact square where the mate would land — otherwise you are defending blind. The mistake is playing a "defensive" move that does not actually remove the threat.
Sacrifice attack
Give up material to unleash a decisive attack.
A sacrificial attack gives up material on purpose to rip the king's shelter open and launch a decisive assault. The sac is sound when you get concrete assets in return: open lines to the king, tempi, pieces ready to pour in. The signs: a poorly sheltered king, your forces aimed at its home, defenders stranded far away. The iron rule is to calculate, not hope — once the material is gone, there is no way back.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 010
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