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Fork Puzzles from the Philidor Defence

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1349 · solved 8,918,002 times

Opening: Philidor Defence

These fork puzzles were set in games that began as the Philidor Defence: 3,088 puzzles, median rating 1349, solved 8,918,002 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.

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By the numbers

fork puzzles from Philidor Defence games: the numbers

There are 3,088 fork puzzles from Philidor Defence games, solved 8,918,002 times in total. The median rating is 1349.

How hard are they?

Foundation
1,204 · 39%
Developing
927 · 30%
Challenging
641 · 20.8%
Advanced
316 · 10.2%

Often combined with

Middlegame tactics · 2,363Opening tactics · 691Sacrifice · 239Checkmate · 176Attraction · 174Mate in 2 · 134Exposed king · 101Pin · 97

Which openings produce them?

Philidor Defence · 3,088

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 Philidor Defence games (64.8% of all 3,088).

63.8% need 2 solver moves, 30.4% need 3 solver moves, 4.7% need 4 solver moves, 1% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 1142 for the shortest solutions, 2284 for the longest.

37.2% open with a queen move. The first move captures in 39.5% and gives check in 72%; 6.2% end in checkmate, 16.8% involve a sacrifice, 53% have White to move.

39.5%first move captures
72%first move gives check
6.2%end in checkmate
16.8%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

2 solver moves
63.8% · median rating 1142
3 solver moves
30.4% · median rating 1664
4 solver moves
4.7% · median rating 1825
5+ solver moves
1% · median rating 2284

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a queen
37.2%
Key move by a knight
34.5%
Key move by a bishop
15.1%
Key move by a pawn
6.8%
Key move by a rook
6.3%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: queen
38.4%
Most valuable capture: bishop
20.8%
Most valuable capture: rook
20%
Most valuable capture: knight
17.1%
Most valuable capture: pawn
2.4%
Captures nothing along the line
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)
3.8%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
7%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
39.8%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
27.8%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
21.4%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
20.9%
21–27 pieces
76.4%
13–20 pieces
2.8%
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: e7 (9.6%), f6 (8%), d5 (7.6%), f7 (6.7%), a4 (5.1%).

2.81.98
112.21.49.66.72.27
13.72.55.181.61.66
2.87.64.12.41.925
5.1151.22.51.13.14
1.113
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 929 · solved 2,902 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxg2

Solution: Qxh3+ → Kg1 → Qxg2#

♜♛♝♜
♟♟♟♚♟♟
♟♞
♕
♞♙
♗♙
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♘♗♔♖
Black to move · rating 1026 · solved 1,853 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qg5

Solution: Nxf3+ → Ke2 → Nxg5

♜♞♝♛♚♝♞♜
♟♟♟
♟♟
♟♕
♙
♘
♙♙♙♙♙♙
♖♗♔♗♖
White to move · rating 1104 · solved 2,222 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: g6

Solution: Qxe5+ → Qe7 → Qxh8

♜♝♛♝♚
♟♟♟
♟♟♟
♟♜♙♞
♙
♗♘
♙♙♙♕♙
♔♖♖
White to move · rating 1204 · solved 1,950 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: gxh6

Solution: Qxf7+ → Kh8 → Qg8#

♚♜♜
♟♟♟♝♟♟
♞♟♛
♗♙♘
♙♙♙♙♙♙
♖♕♖♔
Black to move · rating 1328 · solved 1,935 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxe4

Solution: d5 → Bd3 → dxe4

♚♝♜
♟♟♟
♟♞
♘♝
♞♗
♘♙
♙♙♙♙
♖♔♖
Black to move · rating 1357 · solved 3,513 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: c3

Solution: Nd3+ → Kd2 → Nxf4

♜♞♛♚♜
♟♟♟♟♟♟
♝
♙♞♙
♙♙
♙♙♙
♖♘♗♕♔♗♖
Black to move · rating 1500 · solved 1,172 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: f3

Solution: Qxd1+ → Kxd1 → Nf2+ → Kc2 → Nxh1

♜♝♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟
♟
♞♛
♗
♙♙♘♙♙♙
♖♕♖♔
White to move · rating 1787 · solved 96 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qg5

Solution: f4 → Qe7 → fxe5

♜♝
♟♛♝♚♟
♟♞♟
♞♟
♟
♕♗♘
♙♙♙♙♙♙
♖♖♔
White to move · rating 1847 · solved 75 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nc5

Solution: Bxc5 → Bxc5 → Qc4+ → Nd5 → Qxc5

♜♞♝♝♜
♟♟♚♛♟
♞
♟♕♟♟
♗♙♟
♗♙♘♙♙
♙♙♙♙
♖♔♖
White to move · rating 1873 · solved 189 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nf6

Solution: Nb5+ → Kb6 → Bxc5+ → Qxc5 → Qd8+

♜♞♜♚
♟♟♟
♙♛♟
♟♕
♙♙
♙
♙♙♗♙
♖♔♖
Black to move · rating 2185 · solved 229 times · 4 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxd5

Solution: Qxc3+ → Kf1 → Qxa1+ → Kg2 → Qd4 → Qxd4 → cxd4

♜♞♝♚♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♞
♘
♖
♗♗
♙♙♙♙
♝♘♔
White to move · rating 2426 · solved 413 times · Mate in 4.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nf6

Solution: Nf7+ → Kd7 → Ba4+ → b5 → Bxb5+ → c6 → Re7#

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 Philidor Defence

Middlegame tacticsCheckmateOpening tactics

Same theme, other levels

Fork puzzles by difficulty

Advanced levelFoundation levelChallenging levelDeveloping level