Fork: rook to d8
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 1012 ShuffleRating — club-player level.
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 h1, rook d2, knight g5, pawn g2 h3.
Black: king g8, rook c7, bishop a4, pawn f5 g6 a7 b7.
5 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 38.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 2 points of material (10 against 12; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on h1, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 38, with 22 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 2 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, d, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, b, f.
The White king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
38. Rd8+ Kg7 39. Ne6+ Kf6 40. Nxc7
Why it works
- Great move! rook to d8 keeps the pressure (+4.0).
- Well found: knight to e6 (+3.9).
- Strong! knight to c7 is the sharp choice (+4.1).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kg7, then Ne6+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 38. Rd8+ — rook to d8 with check
- Kg7 — king to g7
- 39. Ne6+ — knight to e6 with check
- Kf6 — king to f6
- 40. Nxc7 — knight to c7 (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.
Only move
Everything else loses — find the only move that holds.
An only move is a position where everything loses except one single continuation. You cannot play "by hand" here: run through fundamentally different defenses — run away, block, trade, counterattack — and discard the ones that fail. The hallmark of these puzzles is that the obvious moves lose quickly while the solution often looks strange. First understand exactly what the threat is — then the one saving move reveals itself.
Endgame tactic
Tactics live in the endgame too — strike while material is scarce.
Tactics do not retire when the queens come off: forks, pins and double attacks live on in the endgame. With so little material left, every tactical loss is almost always decisive. The signs are the usual ones — undefended pieces, king and piece on one line, a pawn about to promote. Even in a "technical" ending, scan for a shot before every move, both yours and your opponent's.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 006
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