Fork: rook to d1 (d8)
li-06aownaming 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 2160 ShuffleRating — expert level — few solve it at first try.
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 h1, queen a7, rook d1 f1, pawn b2 c2 f2 h2 a4.
Black: king c8, queen f5, rook d8 g8, pawn g4 c6 b7 f7 h7.
9 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 23.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 24 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on h1, the black king on c8.
It is Black to move on move 23, with 40 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: a.
The Black king has 1 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
23... Rxd1 24. Rxd1 Qf3+ 25. Kg1 Qxd1+
Why it works
- Great move! rook to d1 keeps the pressure (+6.2).
- Well found: queen to f3 (+6.3).
- Strong! queen to d1 is the sharp choice (+6.5).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Rxd1, then Qf3+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 23… Rxd1 — rook to d1 (capture)
- 24. Rxd1 — rook to d1 (capture)
- Qf3+ — queen to f3 with check
- 25. Kg1 — king to g1
- Qxd1+ — queen to d1 (capture) 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.
Winning exchange
A forced series of captures on one square ends in your favour.
A winning exchange is a forced series of captures on one square that leaves you ahead in material. It is pure arithmetic: count the attackers and defenders of the square and note the value of every piece in the queue. Capture in the right order — cheap pieces first, expensive ones later — or a winning trade turns into a losing one. The classic error is stopping the count halfway and missing the opponent's final recapture.
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).
Pack 015
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