Fork: rook to g2
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 1872 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
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, rook f5 d6, bishop g2, pawn g3 h4.
Black: king h7, rook b2 b8, knight g4, pawn h6 g7.
6 white and 6 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 46.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 15 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 h7.
It is Black to move on move 46, with 34 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 2 pawns, Black 2. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, b, c, d, e, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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
46... Rxg2+ 47. Kxg2 Ne3+ 48. Kh3 Nxf5
Why it works
- Great move! rook to g2 keeps the pressure (+4.3).
- Well found: knight to e3 (+4.2).
- Strong! knight to f5 is the sharp choice (+4.2).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kxg2, then Ne3+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 46… Rxg2+ — rook to g2 (capture) with check
- 47. Kxg2 — king to g2 (capture)
- Ne3+ — knight to e3 with check
- 48. Kh3 — king to h3
- Nxf5 — knight to f5 (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.
Sacrifice attack
Give up material to unleash a decisive attack.
A sacrificial attack gives up material on purpose to rip the king's shelter open and launch a decisive assault. The sac is sound when you get concrete assets in return: open lines to the king, tempi, pieces ready to pour in. The signs: a poorly sheltered king, your forces aimed at its home, defenders stranded far away. The iron rule is to calculate, not hope — once the material is gone, there is no way back.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 014
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