Fork: queen to d5 (e5)
li-0BZTUnaming 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 2392 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 h1, queen c2, rook f1 a2, bishop e2, knight c6, pawn b2 g2 h2 c3 f3 d5.
Black: king g8, queen e5, rook a8 f8, bishop g5 d7, pawn e4 a5 f5 d6 g7 h7.
12 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 23.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 31 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on h1, the black king on g8.
It is Black to move on move 23, with 44 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 6. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in. Half-open for Black: b, c.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. 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
23... Qxd5 24. Nxa5 Rxa5 25. Rxa5 Qxa5
Why it works
- Great move! queen to d5 keeps the pressure (+3.8).
- Well found: rook to a5 (+3.7).
- Strong! queen to a5 is the sharp choice (+4.2).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Nxa5, then Rxa5 and you win the knight.
Move by move
- 23… Qxd5 — queen to d5 (capture)
- 24. Nxa5 — knight to a5 (capture)
- Rxa5 — rook to a5 (capture)
- 25. Rxa5 — rook to a5 (capture)
- Qxa5 — queen to a5 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Winning exchange
A forced series of captures on one square ends in your favour.
A winning exchange is a forced series of captures on one square that leaves you ahead in material. It is pure arithmetic: count the attackers and defenders of the square and note the value of every piece in the queue. Capture in the right order — cheap pieces first, expensive ones later — or a winning trade turns into a losing one. The classic error is stopping the count halfway and missing the opponent's final recapture.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Pack 015
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