Fork: queen to d5 (f5)
li-025Zbnaming tag (square·N)Opens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 1613 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
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 f3, queen f4, rook e6, bishop e3, pawn g2 h2 a5 d5.
Black: king g8, queen f5, rook e8, pawn b5 f6 g7.
8 white and 6 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 36.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 4 points of material (21 against 17; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on f3, the black king on g8.
It is Black to move on move 36, with 28 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: a, d, h.
The Black king has 4 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
36... Qxd5+ 37. Qe4 Qxe6 38. Qxe6+ Rxe6
Why it works
- Great move! queen to d5 keeps the pressure (+3.6).
- Well found: queen to e6 (+4.2).
- Strong! rook to e6 is the sharp choice (+4.3).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Qe4, then Qxe6 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 36… Qxd5+ — queen to d5 (capture) with check
- 37. Qe4 — queen to e4
- Qxe6 — queen to e6 (capture)
- 38. Qxe6+ — queen to e6 (capture) with check
- Rxe6 — rook to e6 (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.
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.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 012
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads