Fork: rook to f5 (f3)
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 2069 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 g2, queen h7, rook f3, knight g3, pawn a2 b2 f2 d4.
Black: king f6, queen g4, rook c1, knight f5, pawn d5 b6 g6 a7 f7.
8 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 27.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 1 points of material (21 against 22; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g2, the black king on f6.
It is White to move on move 27, with 23 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, e, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: g.
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
27. Rxf5+ gxf5 28. Qh6+ Ke7 29. Qxc1
Why it works
- Great move! rook to f5 keeps the pressure (+4.0).
- Well found: queen to h6 (+4.9).
- Strong! queen to c1 is the sharp choice (+4.9).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead gxf5, then Qh6+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 27. Rxf5+ — rook to f5 (capture) with check
- gxf5 — pawn to f5 (capture)
- 28. Qh6+ — queen to h6 with check
- Ke7 — king to e7
- 29. Qxc1 — queen to c1 (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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