Fork: knight to g3 (e2·2)
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 2421 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 h1, queen h4, rook d1 f1, bishop e4, pawn a2 b2 h3 g5 g6.
Black: king h8, queen c7, rook f8, bishop b7, knight e2, pawn d5 b6 a7 h7.
10 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 32.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 3 points of material (27 against 24; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on h1, the black king on h8.
It is Black to move on move 32, with 50 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, e, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: g.
The Black king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
32... Ng3+ 33. Qxg3 Rxf1+ 34. Rxf1 Qxg3
Why it works
- Great move! knight to g3 keeps the pressure (+3.4).
- Well found: rook to f1 (+3.4).
- Strong! queen to g3 is the sharp choice (+3.6).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Qxg3, then Rxf1+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 32… Ng3+ — knight to g3 with check
- 33. Qxg3 — queen to g3 (capture)
- Rxf1+ — rook to f1 (capture) with check
- 34. Rxf1 — rook to f1 (capture)
- Qxg3 — queen to g3 (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.
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.
Zwischenzug
Before the obvious recapture — an in-between move that wins more.
A zwischenzug means refusing the obvious reply — usually a recapture — and playing a stronger move with tempo first. Typically it is a check or a deadly threat the opponent must answer, after which you calmly take what was hanging anyway. The sign: inside a sequence of exchanges you own a check or a threat that will not run away. Whenever a line looks forced, ask what poison you can slip in between the moves.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Pack 015
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