Fork: queen to c5 (a5·2)
li-0PAuUnaming 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 2321 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 g1, queen d1, rook a1 f1, bishop d2 c4, knight c3, pawn b2 c2 g2 h2 a3 f4 e5.
Black: king g8, queen a5, rook a8 f8, bishop b4 c8, knight e7, pawn a7 b7 c7 d7 f7 g7 h7.
14 white and 14 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 12.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 35 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 Black to move on move 12, with 31 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 7. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in. Half-open for Black: e.
The Black king has 1 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
12... Qc5+ 13. Kh1 Bxc3 14. Bxc3 Qxc4
Why it works
- Great move! queen to c5 keeps the pressure (+2.7).
- Spot on — bishop to c3 (+2.5).
- Strong! queen to c4 is the sharp choice (+3.0).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead Kh1, then Bxc3 and you win the knight.
Move by move
- 12… Qc5+ — queen to c5 with check
- 13. Kh1 — king to h1
- Bxc3 — bishop to c3 (capture)
- 14. Bxc3 — bishop to c3 (capture)
- Qxc4 — queen to c4 (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.
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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