Fork: knight to f7 (e5·2)
li-0MJ3pnaming 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 2185 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 g4, rook a1 e1, bishop c3, knight e5, pawn b2 g2 h2 f3 a4 d4.
Black: king g8, queen d5, rook c7 d8, bishop a6 e7, pawn a5 b6 e6 h6 f7 g7.
12 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 25.
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 g8.
It is White to move on move 25, with 40 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.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. 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
25. Nxf7 Kxf7 26. Qf4+ Ke8 27. Qxc7
Why it works
- Brilliant! The knight on f7 is a sacrifice that works — you are winning (+3.0).
- Well found: queen to f4 (+3.4).
- Strong! queen to c7 is the sharp choice (+3.4).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kxf7, then Qf4+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 25. Nxf7 — knight to f7 (capture)
- Kxf7 — king to f7 (capture)
- 26. Qf4+ — queen to f4 with check
- Ke8 — king to e8
- 27. Qxc7 — queen to c7 (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.
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.
Decoy
A sacrifice lures the king or a piece onto a fatal square.
A decoy is the mirror image of deflection: you sacrifice to drag the king or a piece onto a fatal square. The classic is a queen or rook sac whose capture pulls the king into a knight fork, a discovered check or mate. Find the square where the target will be hit, then find the offer it cannot refuse. Calculate to the very end — a decoy only works when the follow-up is forced.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Pack 015
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