Fork: pawn to g5 (g6·2)
li-07Ednnaming 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 2272 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 f4, queen d6, rook d1, pawn c3 g3 e4.
Black: king g8, rook g2 e8, knight e5, pawn g6 g7.
6 white and 6 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 42.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 2 points of material (17 against 15; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on f4, the black king on g8.
It is Black to move on move 42, with 27 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 2. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, b, d, f, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: c, e.
The Black king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
42... g5+ 43. Ke3 Nc4+ 44. Kf3 Nxd6
Why it works
- Great move! pawn to g5 keeps the pressure (+3.9).
- Well found: knight to c4 (+4.0).
- Strong! knight to d6 is the sharp choice (+3.9).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Ke3, then Nc4+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 42… g5+ — pawn to g5 with check
- 43. Ke3 — king to e3
- Nc4+ — knight to c4 with check
- 44. Kf3 — king to f3
- Nxd6 — knight to d6 (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.
Counter-strike
Don't defend — answer the threat with a bigger one.
The counter-strike: instead of defending against the threat, you answer with a bigger threat of your own. While your opponent grabs a pawn, you deliver mate — the arithmetic favors you. Look for a counter when direct defenses fail: do you have a check, an attack on the queen, a mating threat? The beginner's error is meeting every threat with a reflexive defense without checking the counterattacking resources first.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Pack 015
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads