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Fork Puzzles from the Italian Game

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1348 · solved 24,189,429 times

Opening: Italian Game

These fork puzzles were set in games that began as the Italian Game: 9,078 puzzles, median rating 1348, solved 24,189,429 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 Italian Game

By the numbers

fork puzzles from Italian Game games: the numbers

There are 9,078 fork puzzles from Italian Game games, solved 24,189,429 times in total. The median rating is 1348.

How hard are they?

Foundation
3,603 · 39.7%
Developing
2,377 · 26.2%
Challenging
1,830 · 20.2%
Advanced
1,268 · 14%

Often combined with

Middlegame tactics · 7,114Opening tactics · 1,840Sacrifice · 778Checkmate · 752Attraction · 566Mate in 2 · 562Pin · 330Exposed king · 290Discovered attack · 277

Which openings produce them?

Italian Game · 9,078

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 Italian Game games (22% of all 9,078).

62.6% need 2 solver moves, 28.7% need 3 solver moves, 6.6% need 4 solver moves, 2.2% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 1133 for the shortest solutions, 2391 for the longest.

35.5% open with a queen move. The first move captures in 39.6% and gives check in 72.9%; 7.8% end in checkmate, 19.6% involve a sacrifice, 55.2% have White to move.

39.6%first move captures
72.9%first move gives check
7.8%end in checkmate
19.6%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

2 solver moves
62.6% · median rating 1133
3 solver moves
28.7% · median rating 1666
4 solver moves
6.6% · median rating 2071
5+ solver moves
2.2% · median rating 2391

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a queen
35.5%
Key move by a knight
35.1%
Key move by a bishop
15.6%
Key move by a pawn
7%
Key move by a rook
6.4%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: queen
42.8%
Most valuable capture: rook
20.5%
Most valuable capture: bishop
16.6%
Most valuable capture: knight
15%
Most valuable capture: pawn
3.3%
Captures nothing along the line
1.8%

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)
4.2%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
6.9%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
36%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
28.8%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
24%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
17%
21–27 pieces
79%
13–20 pieces
4.1%
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: f7 (12.5%), d5 (10.4%), e7 (10.3%), f6 (7.5%), e6 (4.9%).

1.72.68
11.710.312.51.51.37
3.41.84.97.52.71.16
1.910.44.222.92.85
22.422.71.31.94
1.31.13
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 968 · solved 1,600 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: exd4

Solution: Bxd4+ → Kh1 → Bxa1

♜♛♚♝♜
♟♟♟♟♟♟
♟
♞
♙♕♙
♗♙
♙♙♙
♖♘♗♖♔
Black to move · rating 1000 · solved 1,437 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: gxh3

Solution: Nf3+ → Kg2 → Nxd4

♜♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟
♟♛
♟♙
♙♕
♙
♙♙♖♙♙
♖♔
Black to move · rating 1006 · solved 1,434 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Rc2

Solution: Qg6+ → Kh1 → Qxc2

♜♜♚
♟♟♙♟♟♟
♗
♖
♙♙♙♙
♖♘♞♔
Black to move · rating 1298 · solved 2,983 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxe6

Solution: fxe6+ → Ke1 → Nd3+ → Ke2 → Nxc5

♜♝♚♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♝♟
♘♟♛
♗
♙♙♙♙♙♙
♖♕♖♔
White to move · rating 1310 · solved 2,100 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qf5

Solution: Rxe5+ → Qxe5 → Bxe5

♜♝♛♜♚
♟♟♟♟
♟♟♞♟
♟
♗♙♞♘
♙♘♙♙
♙♙♕♙♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 1408 · solved 3,291 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Ng4

Solution: Bxf7+ → Kh7 → Bxg6+

♚♜♜
♟♟♟♝♟
♛
♘♟♕♝
♙
♙♙♙♙♙♙
♞♗♖♔
White to move · rating 1496 · solved 1,998 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: O-O-O

Solution: Nxa7+ → Kb8 → Nxc6+

♜♚
♟♟♟
♟♞♟♜♟♟
♙♟♘♛
♙♙♞♙
♙♙♙
♘♙
♖♕♖♔
White to move · rating 1713 · solved 1,279 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: g6

Solution: Qxg4 → Qxg4 → Nxh6+ → Kg7 → Nxg4

♜♝♚♝♜
♟♟♟♟
♟♞
♗♛
♙♟
♙♙♗♙♙♙
♖♕♔♖
White to move · rating 1806 · solved 1,226 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qd4

Solution: Bxc6+ → Bd7 → Bxa8 → fxg2 → Bxg2

♜♚♜
♟♟♟♛♟
♘
♕
♙♟♝
♞
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♔♖
White to move · rating 1969 · solved 838 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qd7

Solution: Qe5+ → Kf7 → Nxh8+

♜♛♜♚
♟♟♟♞♗♟♞
♝♗
♟♙♕
♟
♙♙♙
♙♙♙
♖♔♖
White to move · rating 2038 · solved 402 times · 4 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: dxe4

Solution: Bxg7+ → Bxg7 → Bg6 → Bh6 → Qxh6 → Nxg6 → fxg6

♜♛♚♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♟
♝♟
♗♘♞♕
♙
♙♙♙♘♙♙
♖♗♖♔
Black to move · rating 2050 · solved 509 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxg4

Solution: Rh1+ → Kxh1 → Nxf2+ → Kh2 → Nxg4+

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 Italian Game

Middlegame tacticsCheckmateOpening tacticsKingside attackMate in 2Discovered attack

Same theme, other levels

Fork puzzles by difficulty

Advanced levelFoundation levelChallenging levelDeveloping level