How to solve fork puzzles
- Every puzzle in this set has a fork in its solution: one piece attacking two or more targets at the same time.
- After the opponent’s move, look for the square where one of your pieces would hit two things at once, often the king and something else.
- Play the move by clicking or dragging. The opponent can only save one target; collect the other with your next move.
Kinds of forks to look for
- A knight fork attacks the king and the queen or a rook. Watch the squares a knight move away from both targets.
- A queen fork is a queen check that also hits a loose piece on the other side of the board.
- A pawn fork comes from a pawn advancing between two pieces, attacking both diagonally.
- Some forks come after a sacrifice: giving up a piece first pulls the king or queen onto a forkable square.
Tips
- Undefended pieces are the usual second target, so list them before you look for the fork.
- A fork that comes with check can’t be answered by moving the other piece away.
- Sometimes a capture or a check first sets the pieces up for the fork, so look one move deeper.
About these puzzles
All positions come from real games in the public-domain Lichess puzzle database, tagged as fork puzzles and checked by an engine. Only puzzles played at least a thousand times are included.