ChessPuzzlePrint Free chess puzzles, tools and printables

Real positions. Quiet practice.

Fork Puzzles from the English Opening

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1327 · solved 16,819,919 times

Opening: English Opening

These fork puzzles were set in games that began as the English Opening: 5,674 puzzles, median rating 1327, solved 16,819,919 times. The twelve below are among the most-solved of them; try each on the board, then read the numbers further down to see how the solutions are built.

All fork puzzles Print a worksheet About the English Opening

By the numbers

fork puzzles from English Opening games: the numbers

There are 5,674 fork puzzles from English Opening games, solved 16,819,919 times in total. The median rating is 1327.

How hard are they?

Foundation
2,259 · 39.8%
Developing
1,685 · 29.7%
Challenging
1,149 · 20.3%
Advanced
581 · 10.2%

Often combined with

Middlegame tactics · 4,030Opening tactics · 1,608Sacrifice · 489Attraction · 413Exposed king · 138Checkmate · 138Discovered attack · 132Hanging piece · 118

Which openings produce them?

English Opening · 5,674

Counts computed from the full puzzle set.

How the solutions work · counted by a rules engine

What a typical fork solution looks like

Sample: 2,000 fork puzzles from English Opening games (35.2% of all 5,674).

64.8% need 2 solver moves, 28.6% need 3 solver moves, 5.2% need 4 solver moves, 1.3% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 1148 for the shortest solutions, 2373 for the longest.

38.2% open with a queen move. The first move captures in 39.1% and gives check in 69.4%; 2.4% end in checkmate, 16.1% involve a sacrifice, 46.2% have White to move.

39.1%first move captures
69.4%first move gives check
2.4%end in checkmate
16.1%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

2 solver moves
64.8% · median rating 1148
3 solver moves
28.6% · median rating 1632
4 solver moves
5.2% · median rating 1880
5+ solver moves
1.3% · median rating 2373

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a queen
38.2%
Key move by a knight
35.8%
Key move by a bishop
13.3%
Key move by a pawn
7.2%
Key move by a rook
5.4%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: queen
38.2%
Most valuable capture: bishop
24.5%
Most valuable capture: knight
19.2%
Most valuable capture: rook
15.6%
Captures nothing along the line
1.2%
Most valuable capture: pawn
1.2%

Material balance along the whole line, counting every capture by both sides (pawn 1, minor piece 3, rook 5, queen 9):

No material gained (mating or positional)
3.7%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
5.8%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
45.7%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
23.2%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
21.6%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
31.8%
21–27 pieces
66%
13–20 pieces
2.2%
12 pieces or fewer
0%

How it is counted: every puzzle in the sample is replayed move by move with a chess rules engine. A sacrifice means a piece that is captured on the very next ply and was worth more than what it captured itself (pawn 1, minor piece 3, rook 5, queen 9). Sample of 2,000 puzzles. Percentages are shares of the sample.

Where it happens

Where the key move lands

Where the solver’s first move ends, drawn from their own side (rank 1 is their back rank). Busiest squares: a4 (13.6%), f6 (9.8%), e7 (9.2%), d5 (7.3%), c6 (5.3%).

1.218
4.21.19.241.917
5.33.23.79.81.36
2.67.351.11.41.45
13.61.21.62.93.34
1.63
2
1
abcdefgh

Counted from the same 2,000-puzzle sample. Squares under 1% are left blank.

Study positions

The most-solved fork puzzles, from each difficulty level. Play each one on the board, then open the answer for the full line.

♜♛♚♞♜
♟♟♟♟♟♗
♟♟
♙♟
♙♙♞
♙♙
♙♘♗♙
♖♕♔♖
Black to move · rating 828 · solved 1,524 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: exd5

Solution: Ne3+ → Kf2 → Nxd1+

♜♜
♟♟♟♟♚♟
♟♟
♘♙♞
♙♙♔♙
♙♙♛
♖♕♖
White to move · rating 1087 · solved 13,893 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kxg7

Solution: Qd4+ → e5 → Qxg4

♜♜♚
♟♛♝♟♟♟
♞
♝♗
♟
♙♙♙♙
♙♘♙♗♙
♖♕♖♔
Black to move · rating 1182 · solved 1,581 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxe5

Solution: Bxg2 → Kxg2 → Qd5+ → Kg1 → Qxe5

♜♞♝♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟♟
♙
♛♗
♔♕
♙♙♙♙
♖♘♖
White to move · rating 1242 · solved 1,233 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxc4

Solution: Bd5+ → Qxd5 → Qxd5+

♛♜♚
♘♟♝♟♟♟
♜♟♞
♞
♙♗
♙♙♙
♙♗♙
♖♕♖♔
Black to move · rating 1251 · solved 2,765 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxa7

Solution: Qb6+ → Kh1 → Qxa7

♝♜♚
♟♟♟♟
♝♛♟
♜♟
♙♙
♙♙♗♙
♖♗♕♖♔
White to move · rating 1406 · solved 1,379 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rxa5

Solution: Rxa5 → Bxa5 → Qa4 → Rd8 → Qxa5

♜♛♜♚
♟♟♟
♟♞♟
♝♟
♞
♘♙♘♙
♕♙♙♗♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 1489 · solved 1,330 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Ncd4

Solution: Nxd4 → Nxd4 → Bxd5+ → Qxd5 → Nxd5

♜♛♜♚
♟♗♝♟♟♟
♟♟
♗
♙♞♙
♙♕♙♙♙
♖♖♔
Black to move · rating 1648 · solved 560 times · 4 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxb7

Solution: Qxd4 → Qxd4 → Nxe2+ → Kh1 → Nxd4 → Bxa8 → Rxa8

♜♝♛♜♚
♟♞♟♟♟
♟♞
♗
♙♙♘
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♕♔♗♖
Black to move · rating 1665 · solved 433 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: e3

Solution: Nxe5 → Nxe5 → Qa5+ → Qd2 → Qxe5

♜♚
♟♟♖♟♝♟
♟
♞
♕
♙♛♙♙♙
♗♔
White to move · rating 1734 · solved 334 times · Mate in 4.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxe4

Solution: Qxf7+ → Kh8 → Re8+ → Rxe8 → Qxe8+ → Bf8 → Qxf8#

♜♛♜♚
♟♝♟
♟♞♟♟
♟♗♟♕
♙♘
♙♙♙
♙♙
♖♗♝♔
White to move · rating 2019 · solved 476 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxf1

Solution: Nxh6 → g6 → Nf7+ → Kg7 → Qh6+

♜♜♚
♟♟♟♟♝♟
♛♟♞♟
♞♘
♙
♙♙
♙♙♕♗♘♔♙
♖♖
White to move · rating 2308 · solved 380 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nc5

Solution: Nd4 → Qd7 → Nxf6+ → Bxf6 → Rxf6

Positions and move sequences come from real rated games (CC0 data). Engine evaluations, where shown, are stored evaluations of the position (CC0).

Same opening, other tactics

More puzzles from the English Opening

Middlegame tacticsOpening tactics

Same theme, other levels

Fork puzzles by difficulty

Advanced levelFoundation levelChallenging levelDeveloping level