Chess Puzzle #1iXP1 — Intermediate, Black to move, middlegame

Rating 1476 · Intermediate · fork, mate, mate in 2, middlegame, short.

Position

White: king a1; queen h6; rooks g1/h1; bishops d3/e3; knight g3; pawns b3/c2/d4/f4/f6. Black: king g8; queen c7; rooks a8/f8; bishop e8; knight h7; pawns a2/a3/d5/e6/g6. White is ahead by 3 points of material. Black to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Bxg6 — bishop d3→g6, captures pawn. Now Black to move.
  2. Best move: Qc3+ — queen c7→c3, gives check. Opponent replies Kxa2 (king a1→a2, captures pawn).
  3. Best move: Qb2# — queen c3→b2, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

fork, mate, mate in 2, middlegame, short. The combination ends with Qb2# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: r3brk1/2q4n/4pPpQ/3p4/3P1P2/pP1BB1N1/p1P5/K5RR w - - 1 28

Solve this puzzle interactively on Brilliant Knight — free tactics training powered by Stockfish 18, no signup required.

Puzzle data from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0). Analysis powered by Stockfish 18 in your browser.