Fork: rook to e1 (e8·4)
li-0AOu4naming 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 2199 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 h3, rook b1 e1, bishop c2, knight f5, pawn a2 f2 g2 h2 d4.
Black: king g8, queen g5, rook a8 e8, knight f6 g6, pawn d5 c6 a7 f7 g7.
11 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 25.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 30 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 g8.
It is Black to move on move 25, with 40 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: h.
The Black king has 1 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
25... Rxe1+ 26. Rxe1 Qd2 27. Qe3 Qxc2
Why it works
- Great move! rook to e1 keeps the pressure (+4.4).
- Well found: queen to d2 (+4.4).
- Strong! queen to c2 is the sharp choice (+4.4).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Rxe1, then Qd2 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 25… Rxe1+ — rook to e1 (capture) with check
- 26. Rxe1 — rook to e1 (capture)
- Qd2 — queen to d2
- 27. Qe3 — queen to e3
- Qxc2 — queen to c2 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Decoy
A sacrifice lures the king or a piece onto a fatal square.
A decoy is the mirror image of deflection: you sacrifice to drag the king or a piece onto a fatal square. The classic is a queen or rook sac whose capture pulls the king into a knight fork, a discovered check or mate. Find the square where the target will be hit, then find the offer it cannot refuse. Calculate to the very end — a decoy only works when the follow-up is forced.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 015
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