Chess Puzzle #4upjr — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1246 · Intermediate · attraction, endgame, long, mate, mate in 3, sacrifice.

Position

White: king h2; queen h5; rooks g3/g4; pawns a3/f2/g2/h3. Black: king h8; queen a1; rooks g7/g8; pawns a7/b7/f6/f7/h7. Black is ahead by 1 point of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qe5 — queen a1→e5. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qxh7+ — queen h5→h7, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Kxh7 (king h8→h7, captures queen).
  3. Best move: Rh4+ — rook g4→h4, gives check. Opponent replies Qh5 (queen e5→h5).
  4. Best move: Rxh5# — rook h4→h5, captures queen, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

attraction, endgame, long, mate, mate in 3, sacrifice. The combination ends with Rxh5# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 6rk/pp3prp/5p2/7Q/6R1/P5RP/5PPK/q7 b - - 13 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.