Fork: knight to e6 (f4)
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 857 ShuffleRating — for beginners taking their first steps in Chess960 tactics.
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 h2, queen d1, knight e3 f4, pawn a2 b2 d3 h3 c4 g4.
Black: king g7, queen f8, rook f7, knight d7, pawn f3 b4 a5 c5 d6 g6.
10 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 31.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 2 points of material (21 against 23; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on h2, the black king on g7.
It is White to move on move 31, with 33 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: f.
The White king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
31. Ne6+ Kg8 32. Nxf8
Why it works
- Great move! knight to e6 keeps the pressure (+4.2).
- Well found: knight to f8 (+4.7).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kg8, then Nxf8 and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 31. Ne6+ — knight to e6 with check
- Kg8 — king to g8
- 32. Nxf8 — knight to f8 (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 004
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