Skip to main content
Peck
Toggle navigation menu
Log inStart free training
Puzzles by theme

Fork puzzles

A fork is one move that attacks two things at once. These ten real Lichess positions run from easy to club-strong; solve each one before you open the answer.

Train these as a Woodpecker setDownload PGN

Forks are the first tactic most players learn and the one they keep missing in fast games. The knight gets the fame, but queens, pawns, bishops and even kings fork just as often, usually against a king and a loose piece.

What makes forks ideal for repetition is that the geometry repeats. After a few cycles you stop calculating knight jumps square by square and start seeing the two targets first.

What to look for

  • Two undefended pieces, or a piece and the king, that one of your pieces could hit together.
  • Checks first: a checking fork leaves the opponent no time to save the second target.
  • Knight squares two steps from both targets, and queen moves on crossing lines.
  • Captures that pull a piece onto a forkable square before the fork itself.

10 puzzles

Solve these fork puzzles

Real positions from the Lichess puzzle database, rated 890 to 1636, easiest first. The board faces the side to move.

  1. Puzzle 1 · rated 890

    a8b7c6d5e4f3g2h1
    White to move.
    Show solution

    34.Ng5+ Ke8 35.Nxf3

    Puzzle RELjg on Lichess

  2. Puzzle 2 · rated 956

    a8b7c6d5e4f3g2h1
    White to move.
    Show solution

    34.Qxd5+ Kf8 35.Qxa8+

    Puzzle x4HlY on Lichess

  3. Puzzle 3 · rated 1020

    h1g2f3e4d5c6b7a8
    Black to move.
    Show solution

    32...Ng3+ 33.Kg2 Nxf1

    Puzzle KEPe0 on Lichess

  4. Puzzle 4 · rated 1188

    a8b7c6d5e4f3g2h1
    White to move.
    Show solution

    29.Nf6+ Kf7 30.Nfxd5

    Puzzle 134eC on Lichess

  5. Puzzle 5 · rated 1325

    a8b7c6d5e4f3g2h1
    White to move.
    Show solution

    41.Ne6+ Kh8 42.Nxc7

    Puzzle zpfTo on Lichess

  6. Puzzle 6 · rated 1387

    a8b7c6d5e4f3g2h1
    White to move.
    Show solution

    22.Rxc5 Rxc5 23.Nd3 Rc2 24.Nxe5

    Puzzle IzEff on Lichess

  7. Puzzle 7 · rated 1518

    a8b7c6d5e4f3g2h1
    White to move.
    Show solution

    32.Qc3+ Kg6 33.Qxb2 Qf3+ 34.Kg1

    Puzzle GBpSU on Lichess

  8. Puzzle 8 · rated 1558

    a8b7c6d5e4f3g2h1
    White to move.
    Show solution

    17.Nxe4 Nxe4 18.Qd3 Rf4 19.Qxe3

    Puzzle RNZGg on Lichess

  9. Puzzle 9 · rated 1611

    h1g2f3e4d5c6b7a8
    Black to move.
    Show solution

    35...Qd3+ 36.Ke1 Ra1+ 37.Rc1 Rxc1#

    Puzzle noSvh on Lichess

  10. Puzzle 10 · rated 1636

    a8b7c6d5e4f3g2h1
    White to move.
    Show solution

    41.Qxg5+ Kxg5 42.Nxf3+ Kg4 43.Nxe1

    Puzzle Ua911 on Lichess

Train these as a Woodpecker set

Ten puzzles show the pattern; repetition makes it automatic. Peck builds a 100-puzzle fork set from the same database and times you through 5 cycles, with a review queue for the ones you miss. Or take the PGN into any chess app and repeat it there.

Start the fork set freeDownload these 10 puzzles (PGN)

FAQ

Fork puzzles: questions

What is a fork in chess?

A fork is a move where one piece attacks two or more enemy pieces at the same time, so the opponent can save only one. Forks with check are the strongest, because the king must be dealt with first.

Which piece forks best?

The knight, because it attacks squares no other piece covers and cannot be blocked. Queen forks are just as common in practice, and pawn forks are easy to overlook because the attacker looks harmless.

What rating should my fork puzzles be?

A band where you can solve most positions by calculating the whole line on the first pass. For repetition training, that is usually a little below your current puzzle rating.

Ready when you are

Make fork patterns automatic

Repeat one fixed set until you see the idea before you calculate it. Free, no ads, no credit card.

  • 20–500 puzzles
  • Choose your cycles
  • Theme and rating filters
  • Always free
Start this set