Fork: queen to c4
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 1185 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 g1, queen f4, rook e1 f1, knight d2, pawn a2 b2 f2 g2 c3 h3 f5.
Black: king g8, queen d7, rook a8 f8, knight d3, pawn c5 d6 f6 a7 b7 g7 h7.
12 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 18.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 29 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 White to move on move 18, with 42 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 White: d.
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
18. Qc4+ d5 19. Qxd3
Why it works
- Great move! queen to c4 keeps the pressure (+5.0).
- Well found: queen to d3 (+5.0).
- You win a piece — the knight.
- If instead d5, then Qxd3 and you win the knight.
Move by move
- 18. Qc4+ — queen to c4 with check
- d5 — pawn to d5
- 19. Qxd3 — queen to d3 (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 007
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