Chess Puzzle #57aJO — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1491 · Intermediate · discovered attack, kingside attack, mate, mate in 2, middlegame, short.

Position

White: king g1; queen d3; rooks c1/e1; bishop c2; knight e4; pawns a3/b2/d5/f2/g2/h2. Black: king g8; queen d6; rooks c8/f8; bishops b7/e7; knight f6; pawns a6/b5/f4/f7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 3 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qxd5 — queen d6→d5, captures pawn. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Nxf6+ — knight e4→f6, captures knight, gives check. Opponent replies gxf6 (pawn g7→f6, captures knight).
  3. Best move: Qxh7# — queen d3→h7, captures pawn, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

discovered attack, kingside attack, mate, mate in 2, middlegame, short. The combination ends with Qxh7# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 2r2rk1/1b2bppp/p2q1n2/1p1P4/4Np2/P2Q4/1PB2PPP/2R1R1K1 b - - 7 19

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.