Fork: queen to f3 (f5)
li-05bjNnaming 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 1463 ShuffleRating — club-player level.
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 g2, queen d4, rook c1 c2, knight b3, pawn f2 a3 g3 h3 b4 e5.
Black: king g8, queen f5, rook e8 f8, bishop d7, pawn b5 d5 a6 e6 g7 h7.
11 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 32.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 28 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on g2, the black king on g8.
It is Black to move on move 32, with 30 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: f.
The Black king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
32... Qf3+ 33. Kh2 Qxb3
Why it works
- Great move! queen to f3 keeps the pressure (+3.4).
- Well found: queen to b3 (+3.2).
- You win a piece — the knight.
- If instead Kh2, then Qxb3 and you win the knight.
Move by move
- 32… Qf3+ — queen to f3 with check
- 33. Kh2 — king to h2
- Qxb3 — queen to b3 (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 011
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