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Fork Puzzles from the Queen's Gambit Declined

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1321 · solved 18,227,648 times

Opening: Queen's Gambit Declined

These fork puzzles were set in games that began as the Queen's Gambit Declined: 6,532 puzzles, median rating 1321, solved 18,227,648 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 Queen's Gambit Declined

By the numbers

fork puzzles from Queen's Gambit Declined games: the numbers

There are 6,532 fork puzzles from Queen's Gambit Declined games, solved 18,227,648 times in total. The median rating is 1321.

How hard are they?

Foundation
2,581 · 39.5%
Developing
2,126 · 32.5%
Challenging
1,200 · 18.4%
Advanced
625 · 9.6%

Often combined with

Middlegame tactics · 4,380Opening tactics · 2,072Sacrifice · 482Attraction · 390Checkmate · 167Discovered attack · 145Pin · 140Deflection · 131

Which openings produce them?

Queen's Gambit Declined · 6,532

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 Queen's Gambit Declined games (30.6% of all 6,532).

65.3% need 2 solver moves, 28.8% need 3 solver moves, 4.6% need 4 solver moves, 1.3% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 1165 for the shortest solutions, 2293 for the longest.

48.4% open with a queen move. The first move captures in 36% and gives check in 70.7%; 2.2% end in checkmate, 15.1% involve a sacrifice, 49.2% have White to move.

36%first move captures
70.7%first move gives check
2.2%end in checkmate
15.1%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

2 solver moves
65.3% · median rating 1165
3 solver moves
28.8% · median rating 1586
4 solver moves
4.6% · median rating 1914
5+ solver moves
1.3% · median rating 2293

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a queen
48.4%
Key move by a knight
28%
Key move by a bishop
10.6%
Key move by a pawn
7.8%
Key move by a rook
4.8%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: bishop
32.6%
Most valuable capture: queen
31.8%
Most valuable capture: knight
16.5%
Most valuable capture: rook
16.2%
Most valuable capture: pawn
1.6%
Captures nothing along the line
1.3%

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)
3.1%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
6%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
52.4%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
23.3%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
15.2%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
23.6%
21–27 pieces
72.2%
13–20 pieces
4.2%
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 (23.2%), c7 (6.3%), e5 (5.8%), c6 (5.6%), b5 (5.5%).

1.38
1.46.32.44.531.41.17
5.63.63.93.61.26
5.51.15.45.815
23.21.311.82.31.11.54
3
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 958 · solved 1,771 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxd4

Solution: Bg5+ → Qxg5 → Qxg5+

♜♞♛♚♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♟♟
♘♝
♕♙♙
♞♙
♙♙♗♙♙
♖♘♔♗♖
Black to move · rating 1022 · solved 15,901 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxb4

Solution: Nc2+ → Ke2 → Nxb4

♜♝♛♚♝♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♙♟
♟
♞♙
♕♙
♙♙♙♗♙
♖♘♗♔♘♖
Black to move · rating 1102 · solved 1,583 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: dxc6

Solution: Nd3+ → Kf1 → Nxc1

♜♛♜♚
♟♕♝♟♟♟
♞
♟♘♞♝
♙
♙♙♗♙♙♙
♖♗♔♖
White to move · rating 1208 · solved 1,160 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxe5

Solution: Nxe7+ → Kh8 → Nxf5

♜♝♚♝♞♜
♟♟♟♟♟♟
♛♙
♞♙
♘
♙♙♗♙♙♙
♖♘♕♔♗♖
Black to move · rating 1294 · solved 1,211 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nf3

Solution: Nc2+ → Qxc2 → Qxc2

♜♛♜♚
♝♟♟♟
♟♟♘♟♞
♟
♙♗
♙
♙♙♙♙♔♙
♖♕♖
Black to move · rating 1354 · solved 1,621 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nc6

Solution: Qd5+ → e4 → Qxc6

♜♚♜
♟♟♛♟♟♟
♟♟
♝
♙♝
♙
♙♙♕♙♙
♖♗♖♔
White to move · rating 1586 · solved 3,646 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxe4

Solution: Qxe4 → Rd8 → Qxe5

♜♞♝♚♞♜
♟♟♘♟♟
♟
♝♗
♙♛♙♙♙♙
♖♕♔♗♖
White to move · rating 1604 · solved 912 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: fxe6

Solution: Qd8+ → Kf7 → Qe8#

♜♞♝♛♚♜
♟♟♟♟♟♟
♞
♙
♝♟
♘♙
♙♙♙♙
♖♗♕♔♗♘♖
White to move · rating 1610 · solved 1,324 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bb4

Solution: Qa4+ → Nc6 → dxc6 → Bxc3+ → bxc3

♜♚♜
♟♟♞♟♟
♞♝
♛♟♕
♟♘
♙♙♙♙♙♙
♖♔♗♖
White to move · rating 1628 · solved 899 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Kf8

Solution: Qh6+ → Ke8 → Nd6+ → Kd7 → Nxb5

♜♜♚
♟♟♟♟
♟
♛♗♗
♝
♙
♙♘♙♙♙
♖♕♔♖
Black to move · rating 2170 · solved 186 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxd5

Solution: Bxd2+ → Qxd2 → Rxc1+

♜♚♝♜
♟♝♟♟♟♟
♟
♘♟♛
♕♞
♘
♙♙♗♙♙♙
♖♗♔♖
Black to move · rating 2229 · solved 330 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nf3

Solution: Qxe2+ → Kxe2 → Bxb5+ → Qxb5+ → axb5

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 Queen's Gambit Declined

Middlegame tacticsCheckmateOpening tactics

Same theme, other levels

Fork puzzles by difficulty

Advanced levelFoundation levelChallenging levelDeveloping level