Fork: queen to b2 (f2)
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 1947 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 b3, queen b4, rook a1 d6, pawn f4 a6.
Black: king f7, queen f2, bishop f6, knight a8, pawn b6 g6 h6 a7.
6 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 46.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 2 points of material (21 against 19; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on b3, the black king on f7.
It is Black to move on move 46, with 37 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 2 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, d, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: f.
The Black king has 5 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
46... Qb2+ 47. Ka4 Qxa1+ 48. Kb5 Nc7+
Why it works
- Great move! queen to b2 keeps the pressure (+3.7).
- Well found: queen to a1 (+4.0).
- Strong! knight to c7 is the sharp choice (+4.2).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Ka4, then Qxa1+ and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 46… Qb2+ — queen to b2 with check
- 47. Ka4 — king to a4
- Qxa1+ — queen to a1 (capture) with check
- 48. Kb5 — king to b5
- Nc7+ — knight to c7 with check
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.
Check chase
Every move is a check — the king is chased into losing ground.
In a check chase every one of your moves is a check, so the opponent never gets a free second. The king is herded across the board until it loses a piece or walks into a decisive blow. Such lines are the easiest to calculate: each check allows only a handful of replies, so try them all. Make it a habit to start calculating any sharp position with the checks — they are the most forcing moves on the board.
Battery
Two pieces stacked on one line — the front one strikes with double force.
A battery stacks two long-range pieces on one line — a queen behind a bishop on a diagonal, or doubled rooks on a file. The front piece strikes with double force: capture it, and the piece behind recaptures with even more pressure. The battery is ready when both pieces already stare at one point and only the front strike is missing. Build batteries in advance on lines leading to the king — the doubling itself often breeds the combination.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 014
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