Fork: queen to b5
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 1975 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
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 e2, rook d2 e8, bishop d5, knight e4, pawn g2 f3 h4.
Black: king g7, queen b6, bishop f6, pawn a3 f4 g6 h6 b7.
8 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 42.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 2 points of material (19 against 17; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on e2, the black king on g7.
It is Black to move on move 42, with 31 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, d, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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
42... Qb5+ 43. Rd3 Qxe8
Why it works
- Great move! queen to b5 keeps the pressure (+4.3).
- Well found: queen to e8 (+4.1).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Rd3, then Qxe8 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 42… Qb5+ — queen to b5 with check
- 43. Rd3 — rook to d3
- Qxe8 — queen to e8 (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 014
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