Fork: queen to d5
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 1351 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 b7, rook a1 f1, knight d2 f3, pawn a2 b2 f2 g2 h2 c3.
Black: king g8, queen f6, rook a8 f8, bishop d3 c5, pawn e5 d6 h6 a7 c7 g7.
12 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 19.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 31 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 19, with 40 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 6. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in. Half-open for White: d, e.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 1 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
19. Qd5+ Kh8 20. Qxd3
Why it works
- Great move! queen to d5 keeps the pressure (+4.5).
- Well found: queen to d3 (+4.3).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead Kh8, then Qxd3 and you win the bishop.
Move by move
- 19. Qd5+ — queen to d5 with check
- Kh8 — king to h8
- 20. 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 010
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