Fork: bishop to e5 (f6)
li-06V6cnaming 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 1887 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 g1, queen e3, rook a1 e1, bishop d3, knight c3 e5, pawn a2 b2 f2 g2 h2 d4.
Black: king g8, queen c7, rook a8 f8, bishop f6 c8, knight c6, pawn d5 e6 g6 a7 b7 h7.
13 white and 13 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 15.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 34 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 Black to move on move 15, with 38 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.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. 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
15... Bxe5 16. dxe5 d4 17. Qg3 dxc3
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to e5 keeps the pressure (+3.1).
- Well found: pawn to d4 (+3.3).
- Strong! pawn to c3 is the sharp choice (+3.4).
- You win a piece — the knight.
- If instead dxe5, then d4 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 15… Bxe5 — bishop to e5 (capture)
- 16. dxe5 — pawn to e5 (capture)
- d4 — pawn to d4
- 17. Qg3 — queen to g3
- dxc3 — pawn to c3 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Relative pin
A piece shields a more valuable one behind it — moving it loses material.
In a relative pin the piece shields not its king but something valuable behind it, usually the queen. Moving is legal but costly, because the piece behind falls. Look for three units on one line: your long-range piece, a cheaper enemy piece, and an expensive one hiding behind. Beware the classic trap — a relatively pinned piece can still move with check or a bigger threat, so verify before you cash in.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 014
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