Chess Puzzle #26zI8 — Beginner, White to move, middlegame

Rating 924 · Beginner · endgame, mate, mate in 1, one move, smothered mate.

Position

White: king g1; queen g8; rook c1; knights e2/h6; pawns a4/d4/f2/h2. Black: king h8; queen b4; rook f8; bishop b7; pawns a6/b6/d5/g7/h7. White is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (1 move)

  1. Opponent setup: Rxg8 — rook f8→g8, captures queen. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Nf7# — knight h6→f7, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

endgame, mate, mate in 1, one move, smothered mate. The combination ends with Nf7# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 5rQk/1b4pp/pp5N/3p4/Pq1P4/8/4NP1P/2R3K1 b - - 6 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.