Fork: queen to c5 (a5)
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 1245 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 h6, rook f1 e7, bishop b3, pawn a2 c2 f3 g4 h4.
Black: king g8, queen a5, rook c3 d8, bishop g6, pawn d5 f6 a7 b7 h7.
10 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 24.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 27 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 38 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: c, g.
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
24... Qc5+ 25. Rf2 Qxe7
Why it works
- Great move! queen to c5 keeps the pressure (+4.1).
- Well found: queen to e7 (+4.2).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Rf2, then Qxe7 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 24… Qc5+ — queen to c5 with check
- 25. Rf2 — rook to f2
- Qxe7 — queen to e7 (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.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 008
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