Fork: bishop to d2
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 1959 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 f4, bishop c4, knight a5 c5, pawn g2 g3 d4 e5.
Black: king g7, bishop c3 d7, knight h7, pawn h5 c6 g6 f7.
8 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 41.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 13 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on f4, the black king on g7.
It is Black to move on move 41, with 24 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, b — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: d, e.
Black 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
41... Bd2+ 42. Kf3 Bg4+ 43. Kf2 Bxa5
Why it works
- Great move! bishop to d2 keeps the pressure (+4.8).
- Well found: bishop to g4 (+4.8).
- Strong! bishop to a5 is the sharp choice (+4.6).
- You win a piece — the knight.
- If instead Kf3, then Bg4+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 41… Bd2+ — bishop to d2 with check
- 42. Kf3 — king to f3
- Bg4+ — bishop to g4 with check
- 43. Kf2 — king to f2
- Bxa5 — bishop to a5 (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.
Minor-piece endgame
Bishops and knights duel — geometry decides.
A minor-piece endgame leaves only bishops and knights with pawns, and geometry decides. The bishop loves an open board and play on both wings; the knight loves fixed pawns and outpost squares. Check which color squares the pawns stand on and where the knight can actually reach in time. Practical tip: against a knight, spread the play across both flanks — short legs cannot cover everything.
Counter-strike
Don't defend — answer the threat with a bigger one.
The counter-strike: instead of defending against the threat, you answer with a bigger threat of your own. While your opponent grabs a pawn, you deliver mate — the arithmetic favors you. Look for a counter when direct defenses fail: do you have a check, an attack on the queen, a mating threat? The beginner's error is meeting every threat with a reflexive defense without checking the counterattacking resources first.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 014
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