Fork: queen to e6 (e3)
li-0MA5pnaming tag (square·N)Opens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 1875 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
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 h1, queen e3, rook a1, bishop d3, knight c3, pawn a2 b2 h2 c4 f6.
Black: king g8, queen d8, rook a8, bishop g7, knight g4 h5, pawn c6 d6 h6 a7 b7.
10 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 22.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 3 points of material (25 against 28; 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 g8.
It is White to move on move 22, with 53 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: d.
The White king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
22. Qe6+ Kh8 23. fxg7+ Nxg7 24. Qxg4
Why it works
- Great move! queen to e6 keeps the pressure (+5.5).
- Well found: pawn to g7 (+5.9).
- Strong! queen to g4 is the sharp choice (+5.9).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead Kh8, then fxg7+ and you win the bishop.
Move by move
- 22. Qe6+ — queen to e6 with check
- Kh8 — king to h8
- 23. fxg7+ — pawn to g7 (capture) with check
- Nxg7 — knight to g7 (capture)
- 24. Qxg4 — queen to g4 (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.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Pack 014
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