Fork: knight to e7 (g6·2)
li-02bLnnaming tag (square·N)Opens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
The tactical motive
Double attack: one move creates two threats at once.
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 1119 ShuffleRating — club-player level.
White to move — find the best continuation
How to recognize this tactic
A double attack threatens two things at once so the opponent cannot parry both. Look for a single move — often a queen or knight — that creates two separate threats, such as a check plus an attack on a loose piece.
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 g4, rook a1 e1, knight g6, pawn a2 b2 g2 c3 d4.
Black: king g8, queen d5, rook a8 f8, bishop c6, knight e4, pawn f4 f6 a7 b7 c7.
10 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 21.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 3 points of material (27 against 30; 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 White to move on move 21, with 38 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: f.
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
21. Ne7+ Kf7 22. Nxd5
Why it works
- Great move! knight to e7 keeps the pressure (+5.4).
- Well found: knight to d5 (+5.8).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kf7, then Nxd5 and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 21. Ne7+ — knight to e7 with check
- Kf7 — king to f7
- 22. Nxd5 — knight to d5 (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.
Discovered attack
A piece steps aside and opens a second attack from the piece behind it.
A discovered attack works like a curtain: one piece steps off the line and unveils the long-range piece behind it. The beauty is that the moving piece can create a second threat of its own — two attacks in one move. Look for your stacked pairs: a bishop or rook behind a knight or pawn, aimed through them at something valuable. Send the front piece to the most aggressive square — a discovery without a second threat wastes half its power.
Double check
Two pieces give check at once — only a king move can answer.
A double check is check from two pieces at once: the one that moved and the one it unveiled. Blocking or capturing is useless against two checks — only a king move helps. Look for a discovered check where the front piece can give check as well. It is the most forcing move in chess: you may even hang your queen with it, because nobody has time to take her.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 007
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