Chess Puzzle #39ApR — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1481 · Intermediate · advanced pawn, endgame, mate, mate in 2, promotion, short.

Position

White: king g2; queen f7; bishop c4; pawns a5/b3/e7/f2/g3/h3. Black: king h8; queen a1; rooks c6/c8; pawns a7/b7/g6/h7. Black is ahead by 5 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qe5 — queen a1→e5. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qf8+ — queen f7→f8, gives check. Opponent replies Rxf8 (rook c8→f8, captures queen).
  3. Best move: exf8=Q# — pawn e7→f8, captures rook, promotes to queen, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

advanced pawn, endgame, mate, mate in 2, promotion, short. The combination ends with exf8=Q# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 2r4k/pp2PQ1p/2r3p1/P7/2B5/1P4PP/5PK1/q7 b - - 1 33

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.