Chess Puzzle #3apZc — Beginner, White to move, middlegame

Position

White: king g1; queen f5; rooks c1/f1; bishop b1; pawns a2/b2/d4/e3/e5/g2/h2. Black: king g8; queen d8; rooks a8/f8; bishop e7; pawns a7/b6/c4/d5/f6/g7/h6. Material is balanced. White to move.

Solution (1 move)

1. Opponent setup: fxe5 — pawn f6→e5, captures pawn. Now White to move.
2. Best move: Qh7# — queen f5→h7, delivers checkmate.

Why this works

White's queen move to h7 delivers checkmate because the Black king on g8 has no escape squares and no piece can interpose or capture the queen. The h7 square is undefended — Black's f8 rook cannot reach it, the bishop on e7 has no diagonal to h7, and the g7 pawn cannot move backward. The king cannot flee to f7 (controlled by the queen on h7), h8 (also controlled by the queen), or f8 (occupied by Black's own rook). Black's last move, capturing on e5 with the f-pawn, fatally weakened the kingside by removing the pawn that once shielded h7 from the queen's attack along the fifth rank.

What to practice

Recognize when pawn moves near the king open lines for your attacking pieces. Here, Black's recapture on e5 unguarded the h7 square and created a clear rank from f5 to h7 for the queen. In your own games, before capturing near your king, verify that the capturing pawn doesn't remove a defender of critical squares around your king — especially h7 and h6 for Black, or h2 and h3 for White.

Tactical themes

mate, mate in 1, middlegame, one move. The combination ends with Qh7# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: r2q1rk1/p3b1p1/1p3p1p/3pPQ2/2pP4/4P3/PP4PP/1BR2RK1 b - - 1 18

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