Fork: queen to f4 (h4)
li-0Np2knaming 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 1969 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
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 h2, queen e8, rook a1 e2, pawn a2 g2 b3 h3 c4.
Black: king g7, queen h4, rook c5, knight h5, pawn a5 b6 g6 f7 h7.
9 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 28.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 2 points of material (24 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 h2, the black king on g7.
It is Black to move on move 28, with 33 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): d, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: c.
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
28... Qf4+ 29. Kg1 Qd4+ 30. Qe3 Qxa1+
Why it works
- Great move! queen to f4 keeps the pressure (+4.6).
- Well found: queen to d4 (+4.7).
- Strong! queen to a1 is the sharp choice (+4.7).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kg1, then Qd4+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 28… Qf4+ — queen to f4 with check
- 29. Kg1 — king to g1
- Qd4+ — queen to d4 with check
- 30. Qe3 — queen to e3
- Qxa1+ — queen to a1 (capture) with check
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.
Check chase
Every move is a check — the king is chased into losing ground.
In a check chase every one of your moves is a check, so the opponent never gets a free second. The king is herded across the board until it loses a piece or walks into a decisive blow. Such lines are the easiest to calculate: each check allows only a handful of replies, so try them all. Make it a habit to start calculating any sharp position with the checks — they are the most forcing moves on the board.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Pack 014
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads