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Fork Puzzles from the Queen's Pawn Game

Real puzzles from rated games · median rating 1317 · solved 27,734,067 times

Opening: Queen's Pawn Game

These fork puzzles were set in games that began as the Queen's Pawn Game: 9,677 puzzles, median rating 1317, solved 27,734,067 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 Pawn Game

By the numbers

fork puzzles from Queen's Pawn Game games: the numbers

There are 9,677 fork puzzles from Queen's Pawn Game games, solved 27,734,067 times in total. The median rating is 1317.

How hard are they?

Foundation
3,802 · 39.3%
Developing
3,083 · 31.9%
Challenging
1,869 · 19.3%
Advanced
923 · 9.5%

Often combined with

Middlegame tactics · 6,950Opening tactics · 2,638Sacrifice · 623Attraction · 504Exposed king · 327Checkmate · 288Pin · 212Discovered attack · 201

Which openings produce them?

Queen's Pawn Game · 9,677

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 Pawn Game games (20.7% of all 9,677).

64.2% need 2 solver moves, 30.6% need 3 solver moves, 4.2% need 4 solver moves, 1% need 5 or more solver moves. Median rating: 1164 for the shortest solutions, 2430 for the longest.

42.2% open with a queen move. The first move captures in 39.6% and gives check in 65.2%; 3.4% end in checkmate, 15.2% involve a sacrifice, 50.4% have White to move.

39.6%first move captures
65.2%first move gives check
3.4%end in checkmate
15.2%involve a sacrifice

How many moves does the solver need?

2 solver moves
64.2% · median rating 1164
3 solver moves
30.6% · median rating 1633
4 solver moves
4.2% · median rating 1988
5+ solver moves
1% · median rating 2430

Which piece plays the key move?

Key move by a queen
42.2%
Key move by a knight
28.2%
Key move by a pawn
13.2%
Key move by a bishop
11.7%
Key move by a rook
4.8%

What does the solver win?

Most valuable capture: queen
30.8%
Most valuable capture: bishop
28.8%
Most valuable capture: knight
20.7%
Most valuable capture: rook
15.6%
Most valuable capture: pawn
2.4%
Captures nothing along the line
1.6%

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)
3.4%
Up to 2 pawns’ worth
7.7%
3–4 points (about a minor piece)
45%
5–8 points (a rook or more)
28.6%
9 or more points (a queen’s worth)
15.4%

How much is left on the board?

28 or more pieces on the board
34.5%
21–27 pieces
64%
13–20 pieces
1.5%
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 (15.1%), e5 (9.9%), b5 (6.3%), c7 (5.7%), c6 (5.6%).

1.18
1.15.723.33.91.517
1.45.63.33.93.42.46
6.31.23.89.92.11.42.65
15.11.81.42.81.71.14
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.

♜♝♛♚♜
♟♟♟♟♟
♟
♞♟
♝♞
♙♘♕♙♘
♙♗♙♙♙♙
♖♔♗♖
White to move · rating 1073 · solved 2,307 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Ndxc5

Solution: Qb5+ → Bd7 → Qxb4

♜♛♚♝♜
♞♟♟♟
♟♞
♗♙♘♝
♗
♙
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♕♔♖
Black to move · rating 1114 · solved 1,424 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: dxc5

Solution: Qa5+ → Qd2 → Qxb5

♜♞♛♚♜
♟♟♟
♟♟♝♟
♘♝
♙♙♘
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♕♖♔
White to move · rating 1154 · solved 2,088 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Bxe4

Solution: Nxd6+ → Ke7 → Nxe4

♜♛♚♝♜
♟♟♟♟
♟♙♟
♙
♞♙
♕
♙♙♙♙
♖♗♔♗♖
Black to move · rating 1361 · solved 4,266 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: c6

Solution: Bb4 → Qxb4 → Nc2+ → Ke2 → Nxb4

♜♝♞♜
♟♟♟♛
♕♟♚
♟
♙♟
♙♘
♙♙♔♙♙♙
♞♘♖
White to move · rating 1473 · solved 3,437 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxe7

Solution: Nh4+ → Kh6 → Nf5+ → Kh7 → Nxe7

♜♚♜
♟♟♟
♕♟♟
♘♟
♙♝
♙♙♙
♙♙♙♛
♖♔♖
Black to move · rating 1476 · solved 2,162 times · 3 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qxc6+

Solution: Qxc6 → Nxc6 → Bf3 → Ne5 → Bxh1

♜♝♚♞♜
♟♟♟♟♝
♟
♙♘♟
♞♙
♗
♙♙♙♙♙
♔♖♘♖
White to move · rating 1507 · solved 2,476 times · Mate in 2.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxc4

Solution: Nc7+ → Kf8 → Rd8#

♕♞♚♝♜
♟♞♟
♛♘♝♟
♟
♙♙♟
♘
♙♙♙♙♙
♖♔♗♖
Black to move · rating 1616 · solved 1,102 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: e4

Solution: Qxb2 → Rb1 → Qxc3+

♜♛♜♚
♟♟♟♟♟
♝
♞
♘♙♕♙
♙♙♙♙
♖♗♖♔
Black to move · rating 1620 · solved 1,095 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Qf3

Solution: Nh2 → Qe2 → Nxf1

♜♝♛♚♜
♟♟♟
♟♟♞
♙♟
♝♟♘♞
♘♗
♙♗♙♙♙
♖♕♖♔
White to move · rating 1700 · solved 622 times · 2 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Neg4

Solution: Qa4+ → Bd7 → Qxb4

♜♜♚
♟♝♟♟
♟♟♟
♝♘
♙
♙♙♙♙♙
♗♖♖♔
White to move · rating 2096 · solved 277 times · 4 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: h6

Solution: Bh7+ → Kh8 → Rxd8 → Rxd8 → Nxf7+ → Kxh7 → Nxd8

♜♚
♟♛♞♜♟♟♟
♘♞
♙
♗♙♗♕♙
♙♙♙♙
♖♔♖
Black to move · rating 2378 · solved 293 times · 5 solver moves to find.
Reveal line

Opponent's last move: Nxe6

Solution: Qc3+ → Kd1 → Qxa1+ → Kd2 → Qxh1 → Bxe7 → Re8 → Bxf6 → Nxf6

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 Pawn Game

Middlegame tacticsCheckmateOpening tacticsKingside attack

Same theme, other levels

Fork puzzles by difficulty

Advanced levelFoundation levelChallenging levelDeveloping level