Fork: bishop to e7 (g5)
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 2195 ShuffleRating — expert level — few solve it at first try.
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 g1, queen d1, rook a1 f1, bishop b3 g5, knight c3, pawn a2 b2 f2 g2 h2 e4.
Black: king h8, queen d8, rook a8 f8, bishop b4 c8, knight e7, pawn b5 e5 a6 d6 f7 g7 h7.
13 white and 14 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 15.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 1 points of material (34 against 35; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g1, the black king on h8.
It is White to move on move 15, with 44 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 7. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: d.
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
15. Bxe7 Qxe7 16. Nd5 Qg5 17. Nxb4
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to e7 keeps the pressure (+4.2).
- Well found: knight to d5 (+4.4).
- Strong! knight to b4 is the sharp choice (+4.5).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead Qxe7, then Nd5 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 15. Bxe7 — bishop to e7 (capture)
- Qxe7 — queen to e7 (capture)
- 16. Nd5 — knight to d5
- Qg5 — queen to g5
- 17. Nxb4 — knight to b4 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Relative pin
A piece shields a more valuable one behind it — moving it loses material.
In a relative pin the piece shields not its king but something valuable behind it, usually the queen. Moving is legal but costly, because the piece behind falls. Look for three units on one line: your long-range piece, a cheaper enemy piece, and an expensive one hiding behind. Beware the classic trap — a relatively pinned piece can still move with check or a bigger threat, so verify before you cash in.
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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