Fork: queen to e1 (e6)
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 955 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 d3, rook e1, knight c1 f3, pawn b2 f2 g2 h2 c3 a4 d4.
Black: king b7, queen e6, rook e8, bishop g7, knight g4, pawn a5 f5 g5 b6 c6 f7 h7.
12 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 33.
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 b7.
It is Black to move on move 33, with 47 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 7. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: d.
The Black king has 5 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
33... Qxe1+ 34. Nxe1 Rxe1+ 35. Qf1 Rxf1+
Why it works
- Great move! queen to e1 keeps the pressure (+4.9).
- Well found: rook to e1 (+5.0).
- Strong! rook to f1 is the sharp choice (+5.0).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Nxe1, then Rxe1+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 33… Qxe1+ — queen to e1 (capture) with check
- 34. Nxe1 — knight to e1 (capture)
- Rxe1+ — rook to e1 (capture) with check
- 35. Qf1 — queen to f1
- Rxf1+ — rook to f1 (capture) with check
Types in this puzzle
Win the pinned piece
The pinned piece cannot run — attack it again and win it.
A pinned piece cannot flee, which means you can win it outright by attacking it one more time. Count attackers against defenders: if you outnumber them, the piece is yours. The best extra attacker is a pawn, since it costs less than anything it might capture. Do not rush the capture — build up the pressure first, then harvest.
Simplification
Trade the heavy pieces and steer into a won endgame.
Simplification is how you convert an advantage: by trading queens and rooks you extinguish the counterplay and steer the game into a won endgame. The rule is simple — the side with extra material trades pieces but keeps pawns. Look for exchanges once the material is already won and your opponent is still rattling threats. The mistake is avoiding the queen trade and letting him muddy the water forever.
Winning exchange
A forced series of captures on one square ends in your favour.
A winning exchange is a forced series of captures on one square that leaves you ahead in material. It is pure arithmetic: count the attackers and defenders of the square and note the value of every piece in the queue. Capture in the right order — cheap pieces first, expensive ones later — or a winning trade turns into a losing one. The classic error is stopping the count halfway and missing the opponent's final recapture.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 005
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