Fork: rook to d7 (d1)
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 1771 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
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 g1, queen e5, rook d1 e1, bishop b3, pawn a2 b2 c2 f2 h2.
Black: king g8, queen b7, rook a8 f8, bishop g2, pawn c5 a6 e6 d7 g7 h7.
10 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 22.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 1 points of material (27 against 28; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g1, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 22, with 43 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 6. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in. Half-open for White: d, e, g.
The White king has 0 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
22. Rxd7 Qxd7 23. Bxe6+ Kh8 24. Bxd7
Why it works
- Great move! rook to d7 keeps the pressure (+5.2).
- Well found: bishop to e6 (+5.4).
- Strong! bishop to d7 is the sharp choice (+5.4).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Qxd7, then Bxe6+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 22. Rxd7 — rook to d7 (capture)
- Qxd7 — queen to d7 (capture)
- 23. Bxe6+ — bishop to e6 (capture) with check
- Kh8 — king to h8
- 24. Bxd7 — bishop to d7 (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.
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.
Remove the defender
Capture the guard first — then take what it protected.
Removing the defender is the straightforward plan: capture the guard first, then take what it guarded. Unlike deflection, the defender is not lured away — it is traded off or destroyed on the spot. Stare at the target you crave and ask who defends it, and whether that defender can be profitably eaten. Count the whole capture sequence, not just the first move — the trade must pay off at the end.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 013
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