Fork: queen to d5 (d4·2)
li-0Pzhjnaming 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 2350 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 d1, pawn g2 h2 a3 f3 e4 c5.
Black: king e6, queen a4, rook a8, pawn c3 b4 a5 g5 f6 g7.
9 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 34.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 20 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 e6.
It is White to move on move 34, with 31 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): d — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b.
The White king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
34. Qd5+ Ke7 35. Qb7+ Ke8 36. Qxa8+
Why it works
- Great move! queen to d5 keeps the pressure (+5.9).
- Well found: queen to b7 (+6.2).
- Strong! queen to a8 is the sharp choice (+6.9).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Ke7, then Qb7+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 34. Qd5+ — queen to d5 with check
- Ke7 — king to e7
- 35. Qb7+ — queen to b7 with check
- Ke8 — king to e8
- 36. Qxa8+ — queen to a8 (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 015
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