Fork: knight to e8 (f6·2)
li-0BfGznaming 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 1846 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 f4, queen f7, rook a1 c1, knight f6, pawn a2 c3 e3 d4 g4 f5.
Black: king d6, queen c7, rook h2 h3, bishop d7, knight e7, pawn d5 e6 a7 b7.
11 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 30.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 1 points of material (28 against 29; 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 d6.
It is White to move on move 30, with 31 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b.
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
30. Ne8+ Kc6+ 31. Nxc7
Why it works
- Great move! knight to e8 keeps the pressure (+5.1).
- Well found: knight to c7 (+5.4).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kc6+, then Nxc7 and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 30. Ne8+ — knight to e8 with check
- Kc6+ — king to c6 with check
- 31. Nxc7 — knight to c7 (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.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 013
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