Fork: knight to a5
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 1818 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
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 d4, rook g8, knight c6, pawn b4 g4 d5.
Black: king b7, rook b3, bishop d6, pawn b5 g5 a7 c7.
6 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 43.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 1 points of material (11 against 12; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on d4, the black king on b7.
It is White to move on move 43, with 17 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e, f, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, c.
The White king has 1 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
43. Na5+ Ka6 44. Nxb3
Why it works
- Great move! knight to a5 keeps the pressure (+5.5).
- Well found: knight to b3 (+6.2).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Ka6, then Nxb3 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 43. Na5+ — knight to a5 with check
- Ka6 — king to a6
- 44. Nxb3 — knight to b3 (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.
Endgame tactic
Tactics live in the endgame too — strike while material is scarce.
Tactics do not retire when the queens come off: forks, pins and double attacks live on in the endgame. With so little material left, every tactical loss is almost always decisive. The signs are the usual ones — undefended pieces, king and piece on one line, a pawn about to promote. Even in a "technical" ending, scan for a shot before every move, both yours and your opponent's.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 013
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