Fork: queen to f6
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 1417 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 g1, queen d2, rook f6, knight d5, pawn a2 b2 d3 h3 c4 g4.
Black: king g7, queen d6, rook b8, knight d4, pawn c5 e5 g6 a7 b7 h7.
10 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 23.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 23 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 g7.
It is Black to move on move 23, with 36 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): f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: d.
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
23... Qxf6 24. Nxf6 Nf3+ 25. Kf2 Nxd2
Why it works
- Great move! queen to f6 keeps the pressure (+5.0).
- Well found: knight to f3 (+5.1).
- Strong! knight to d2 is the sharp choice (+5.3).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Nxf6, then Nf3+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 23… Qxf6 — queen to f6 (capture)
- 24. Nxf6 — knight to f6 (capture)
- Nf3+ — knight to f3 with check
- 25. Kf2 — king to f2
- Nxd2 — knight to d2 (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.
Sacrifice attack
Give up material to unleash a decisive attack.
A sacrificial attack gives up material on purpose to rip the king's shelter open and launch a decisive assault. The sac is sound when you get concrete assets in return: open lines to the king, tempi, pieces ready to pour in. The signs: a poorly sheltered king, your forces aimed at its home, defenders stranded far away. The iron rule is to calculate, not hope — once the material is gone, there is no way back.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 010
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