Fork: queen to e3 (c5)
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 2168 ShuffleRating — expert level — few solve it at first try.
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 c1, rook f1 e3, bishop g2, pawn f2 c3 g3 a4 h4.
Black: king g8, queen c5, rook d3, bishop b6 e6, pawn c6 h6 a7 b7 f7 g7.
10 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 23.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (27 against 26; 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 Black to move on move 23, with 47 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The Black king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
23... Qxe3 24. fxe3 Bxe3+ 25. Kh2 Bxc1
Why it works
- Great move! queen to e3 keeps the pressure (+4.3).
- Well found: bishop to e3 (+4.2).
- Strong! bishop to c1 is the sharp choice (+4.4).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead fxe3, then Bxe3+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 23… Qxe3 — queen to e3 (capture)
- 24. fxe3 — pawn to e3 (capture)
- Bxe3+ — bishop to e3 (capture) with check
- 25. Kh2 — king to h2
- Bxc1 — bishop to c1 (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.
Counter-strike
Don't defend — answer the threat with a bigger one.
The counter-strike: instead of defending against the threat, you answer with a bigger threat of your own. While your opponent grabs a pawn, you deliver mate — the arithmetic favors you. Look for a counter when direct defenses fail: do you have a check, an attack on the queen, a mating threat? The beginner's error is meeting every threat with a reflexive defense without checking the counterattacking resources first.
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.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 015
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