Fork: queen to e1
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 818 ShuffleRating — for beginners taking their first steps in Chess960 tactics.
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 f5, rook d2 f3, pawn a2 g2 c3 h3 b4 f4 e5.
Black: king g8, queen g3, rook d8 e8, pawn d5 b6 c6 h6 a7 f7 g7.
11 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 24.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 26 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 24, with 31 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: e.
The Black king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
24... Qe1+ 25. Kh2 Qxd2
Why it works
- Great move! queen to e1 keeps the pressure (+4.6).
- Well found: queen to d2 (+4.8).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kh2, then Qxd2 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 24… Qe1+ — queen to e1 with check
- 25. Kh2 — king to h2
- Qxd2 — queen to d2 (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 003
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