Fork: rook to f3 (f1)
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 2081 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 g3, rook a1 f7, bishop c1 f3, pawn a2 c2 b3 e4 h5 g7.
Black: king d6, rook f1 g8, bishop c5, knight d7, pawn c3 b4 d5 a6 f6.
11 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 37.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (22 against 21; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g3, the black king on d6.
It is Black to move on move 37, with 33 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 5. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in. Half-open for Black: e, g, h.
White hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The Black king has 4 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
37... Rxf3+ 38. Kxf3 Ne5+ 39. Ke2 Nxf7
Why it works
- Brilliant! The rook on f3 is a sacrifice that works — you stand better (+1.2).
- Well found: knight to e5 (+1.8).
- Strong! knight to f7 is the sharp choice (+1.8).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kxf3, then Ne5+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 37… Rxf3+ — rook to f3 (capture) with check
- 38. Kxf3 — king to f3 (capture)
- Ne5+ — knight to e5 with check
- 39. Ke2 — king to e2
- Nxf7 — knight to f7 (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.
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.
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).
Pack 015
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