Chess Puzzle #7BSD6 — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1506 · Intermediate · advantage, attraction, discovered attack, endgame, long, sacrifice.

Position

White: king g1; queen h3; rook e8; bishop d3; pawns a2/c2/c3/f2/g2/h2. Black: king g7; queen f6; rook a8; bishop c8; pawns a7/c6/d6/d7/f7/g5/h6. Black is ahead by 1 point of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qxc3 — queen f6→c3, captures pawn. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Rg8+ — rook e8→g8, gives check. Opponent replies Kxg8 (king g7→g8, captures rook).
  3. Best move: Bh7+ — bishop d3→h7, gives check. Opponent replies Kxh7 (king g8→h7, captures bishop).
  4. Best move: Qxc3 — queen h3→c3, captures queen.

Tactical themes

advantage, attraction, discovered attack, endgame, long, sacrifice. The key move is Rg8+.

Position data

FEN: r1b1R3/p2p1pk1/2pp1q1p/6p1/8/2PB3Q/P1P2PPP/6K1 b - - 3 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.