Fork: bishop to f4 (h6)
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Pin: a piece can't move without exposing something more valuable behind it.
Difficulty 1886 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.
A pin freezes a piece in front of a more valuable one behind it. Scan the ranks, files and diagonals your bishop, rook or queen controls: if an enemy piece cannot move without exposing its king or queen, it is pinned and can be piled on or bypassed.
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 h2, queen e5, rook a1 f1, bishop h3, knight b1, pawn e2 c3 a4 d4 f4 g4 b5.
Black: king b8, queen g7, rook f8 h8, bishop h6, knight g8, pawn h4 d5 a7 b7 c7 e7.
13 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 22.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (32 against 31; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on h2, the black king on b8.
It is Black to move on move 22, with 24 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 6. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in. Half-open for Black: f, g.
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
22... Bxf4+ 23. Rxf4 Qxe5 24. dxe5 Rxf4
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to f4 keeps the pressure (+2.7).
- A brilliant blow: queen to e5, and you are winning (+3.2).
- Strong! rook to f4 is the sharp choice (+3.3).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Rxf4, then Qxe5 and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 22… Bxf4+ — bishop to f4 (capture) with check
- 23. Rxf4 — rook to f4 (capture)
- Qxe5 — queen to e5 (capture)
- 24. dxe5 — pawn to e5 (capture)
- Rxf4 — rook to f4 (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.
Simplification
Trade the heavy pieces and steer into a won endgame.
Simplification is how you convert an advantage: by trading queens and rooks you extinguish the counterplay and steer the game into a won endgame. The rule is simple — the side with extra material trades pieces but keeps pawns. Look for exchanges once the material is already won and your opponent is still rattling threats. The mistake is avoiding the queen trade and letting him muddy the water forever.
Absolute pin
A piece is pinned against its king — it cannot legally move.
An absolute pin freezes a piece on the line between its own king and your long-range attacker: moving it is simply illegal. The pattern is three units on one straight line — your bishop, rook or queen, an enemy piece, and the enemy king behind it. A pinned piece neither attacks nor defends anything: treat it as if it were off the board. Pile up on it, ideally with a pawn, because running away is against the rules.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 014
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