Fork: queen to e5 (e7)
li-07REZnaming 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 2052 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 g1, queen a4, rook a1 d1, bishop g2 e3, knight b1, pawn h2 a3 d3 g3 c4 e5.
Black: king b8, queen e7, rook d8 h8, bishop b7 f8, knight g8, pawn b4 b6 h6 a7 c7 g7.
13 white and 13 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 19.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 34 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 b8.
It is Black to move on move 19, with 39 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, e.
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
19... Qxe5 20. Bxb6 cxb6
Why it works
- Great move! queen to e5 keeps the pressure (+2.7).
- Well found: pawn to b6 (+3.1).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead Bxb6, then cxb6 and you win the bishop.
Move by move
- 19… Qxe5 — queen to e5 (capture)
- 20. Bxb6 — bishop to b6 (capture)
- cxb6 — pawn to b6 (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 014
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