Fork: rook to e2
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 1426 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 f1, rook e2 h5, knight c3, pawn a2 b2 c2 f2 g2 h2.
Black: king e7, rook d2 d8, knight e6, pawn f6 a7 b7 c7 f7 h7.
10 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 21.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 19 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on f1, the black king on e7.
It is Black to move on move 21, with 32 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): d, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: g.
The Black king has 4 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
21... Rxe2 22. Kxe2 Nf4+ 23. Ke3 Nxh5
Why it works
- Great move! rook to e2 keeps the pressure (+5.7).
- Well found: knight to f4 (+5.6).
- Strong! knight to h5 is the sharp choice (+5.6).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kxe2, then Nf4+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 21… Rxe2 — rook to e2 (capture)
- 22. Kxe2 — king to e2 (capture)
- Nf4+ — knight to f4 with check
- 23. Ke3 — king to e3
- Nxh5 — knight to h5 (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.
Endgame tactic
Tactics live in the endgame too — strike while material is scarce.
Tactics do not retire when the queens come off: forks, pins and double attacks live on in the endgame. With so little material left, every tactical loss is almost always decisive. The signs are the usual ones — undefended pieces, king and piece on one line, a pawn about to promote. Even in a "technical" ending, scan for a shot before every move, both yours and your opponent's.
Decoy
A sacrifice lures the king or a piece onto a fatal square.
A decoy is the mirror image of deflection: you sacrifice to drag the king or a piece onto a fatal square. The classic is a queen or rook sac whose capture pulls the king into a knight fork, a discovered check or mate. Find the square where the target will be hit, then find the offer it cannot refuse. Calculate to the very end — a decoy only works when the follow-up is forced.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 010
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