Fork: queen to f4 (f5)
li-06onEnaming 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 1575 ShuffleRating — club-player level.
White 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 c1, queen f5, rook d1 f1, knight e6, pawn b3 g4 d5 h5.
Black: king b8, queen d7, rook e8 g8, knight a3, pawn f6 h6 a7 b7 g7.
9 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 33.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 1 points of material (26 against 27; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on c1, the black king on b8.
It is White to move on move 33, with 35 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, f.
The White king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
33. Qf4+ Ka8 34. Nc7+ Qxc7+ 35. Qxc7
Why it works
- Great move! queen to f4 keeps the pressure (+4.9).
- Well found: knight to c7 (+5.0).
- Strong! queen to c7 is the sharp choice (+5.2).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Ka8, then Nc7+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 33. Qf4+ — queen to f4 with check
- Ka8 — king to a8
- 34. Nc7+ — knight to c7 with check
- Qxc7+ — queen to c7 (capture) with check
- 35. Qxc7 — queen to c7 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Winning blow
Find the strike that wins material by force.
A winning blow is a forced material gain that does not fit a single textbook motif. The general tactical recipe applies: spot loose pieces, an awkwardly placed king, overloaded lines. Go through the forcing moves in order of violence — checks, captures, threats — because most combinations start with one of them. Do not judge by feel: calculate the concrete line until the outcome is beyond doubt.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 011
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