Fork: rook to g6 (g1)
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 2220 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 e1, queen d2, rook b1 g1, knight f4, pawn a2 c2 d3 h4 d5.
Black: king g7, queen d8, rook c8 f8, bishop g6, pawn b5 c5 e5 h5 a6 d6 f7.
10 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 25.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 2 points of material (27 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 e1, the black king on g7.
It is White 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 7. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b, e, f.
The White king has 4 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
25. Rxg6+ fxg6 26. Ne6+ Kh7 27. Nxd8
Why it works
- Great move! rook to g6 keeps the pressure (+3.5).
- Well found: knight to e6 (+3.9).
- Strong! knight to d8 is the sharp choice (+4.3).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead fxg6, then Ne6+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 25. Rxg6+ — rook to g6 (capture) with check
- fxg6 — pawn to g6 (capture)
- 26. Ne6+ — knight to e6 with check
- Kh7 — king to h7
- 27. Nxd8 — knight to d8 (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.
Win the pinned piece
The pinned piece cannot run — attack it again and win it.
A pinned piece cannot flee, which means you can win it outright by attacking it one more time. Count attackers against defenders: if you outnumber them, the piece is yours. The best extra attacker is a pawn, since it costs less than anything it might capture. Do not rush the capture — build up the pressure first, then harvest.
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).
Pack 015
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