Fork: knight to h5 (g3)
li-02FQ8naming 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 1172 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 c2, rook e1, bishop g2, knight g3, pawn f2 g4.
Black: king g7, queen f4, rook f7 e8, knight d6, pawn e4 g5 c7.
7 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 43.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 3 points of material (22 against 25; 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 g7.
It is White to move on move 43, with 39 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 2 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, b, d, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: c, e.
The White king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
43. Nh5+ Kf8 44. Nxf4
Why it works
- Great move! knight to h5 keeps the pressure (+4.3).
- Well found: knight to f4 (+4.3).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kf8, then Nxf4 and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 43. Nh5+ — knight to h5 with check
- Kf8 — king to f8
- 44. Nxf4 — knight to f4 (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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