Fork: queen to e3 (g3·2)
li-0SCGhnaming 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 2440 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 b1, rook d1 g2, bishop b2 e4, knight d4, pawn a2 b3 h3.
Black: king g8, queen g3, rook f8, bishop c5 a8, pawn a6 b6 e6 f7 g7 h7.
10 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 26.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 5 points of material (31 against 26; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g1, the black king on g8.
It is Black to move on move 26, with 42 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, d — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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
26... Qe3+ 27. Kf1 Bxe4 28. Rxg7+ Kxg7
Why it works
- Great move! queen to e3 keeps the pressure (+2.9).
- Well found: bishop to e4 (+3.1).
- Strong! king to g7 is the sharp choice (+3.1).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kf1, then Bxe4 and you win the bishop.
Move by move
- 26… Qe3+ — queen to e3 with check
- 27. Kf1 — king to f1
- Bxe4 — bishop to e4 (capture)
- 28. Rxg7+ — rook to g7 (capture) with check
- Kxg7 — king to g7 (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 015
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