Chess Puzzle #3XVzr — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1279 · Intermediate · long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame, sacrifice.

Position

White: king h3; queen e4; bishop e3; knight e7; pawns a5/f7/g3/h2. Black: king h8; queen c2; rooks d3/f8; bishop e5; pawns a7/g6/h7. Black is ahead by 6 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Bg7 — bishop e5→g7. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Nxg6+ — knight e7→g6, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies hxg6 (pawn h7→g6, captures knight).
  3. Best move: Qh4+ — queen e4→h4, gives check. Opponent replies Bh6 (bishop g7→h6).
  4. Best move: Qxh6# — queen h4→h6, captures bishop, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame, sacrifice. The combination ends with Qxh6# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 5r1k/p3NP1p/6p1/P3b3/4Q3/3rB1PK/2q4P/8 b - - 5 37

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.