Chess Puzzle #7QEl9 — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Position

White: king h2; queen f7; bishop c4; pawns a3/b2/e7/g2/h4. Black: king h8; queen b6; rook a8; knight d1; pawns a5/b7/c6/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 5 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Qe3 — queen b6→e3. Now White to move.
2. Best move: Qf8+ — queen f7→f8, gives check. Opponent replies Rxf8 (rook a8→f8, captures queen).
3. Best move: exf8=Q# — pawn e7→f8, captures rook, promotes to queen, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

advanced pawn, endgame, mate, mate in 2, promotion, short. The combination ends with exf8=Q# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: r6k/1p2PQpp/1qp5/p7/2B4P/P7/1P4PK/3n4 b - - 0 24

Solve this puzzle interactively on Brilliant Knight — free tactics training powered by Stockfish 18, no signup required.