Fork: queen to f6 (d4)
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 2111 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 g1, queen d4, rook a1 f1, knight c3 c6, pawn b2 f2 g2 h2 a3 d5.
Black: king g7, queen d6, rook a8 f8, bishop c8, knight f6, pawn a6 e6 g6 a7 f7 h7.
12 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 18.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 31 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on g1, the black king on g7.
It is White to move on move 18, with 50 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: e.
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
18. Qxf6+ Kxf6 19. Ne4+ Kg7 20. Nxd6
Why it works
- Great move! queen to f6 keeps the pressure (+5.0).
- Well found: knight to e4 (+4.9).
- Strong! knight to d6 is the sharp choice (+5.1).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kxf6, then Ne4+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 18. Qxf6+ — queen to f6 (capture) with check
- Kxf6 — king to f6 (capture)
- 19. Ne4+ — knight to e4 with check
- Kg7 — king to g7
- 20. Nxd6 — knight to d6 (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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