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

Rating 1523 · Intermediate · endgame, exposed king, long, mate, mate in 3.

Position

White: king b1; queen d3; rook h8; knight g5; pawns a2/d5/e4/f4. Black: king g8; queen a5; rook b8; pawns b2/b3/d6/e7/g6. White is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Kxh8 — king g8→h8, captures rook. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qh3+ — queen d3→h3, gives check. Opponent replies Kg7 (king h8→g7).
  3. Best move: Qh7+ — queen h3→h7, gives check. Opponent replies Kf6 (king g7→f6).
  4. Best move: Qf7# — queen h7→f7, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

endgame, exposed king, long, mate, mate in 3. The combination ends with Qf7# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 1r4kR/4p3/3p2p1/q2P2N1/4PP2/1p1Q4/Pp6/1K6 b - - 1 35

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Puzzle data from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0). Analysis powered by Stockfish 18 in your browser.