Chess Puzzle #8IT6h — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1503 · Intermediate · deflection, kingside attack, long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame.

Position

White: king g1; queen f3; rooks d3/f1; pawns a3/c2/e3/g2/h3. Black: king g8; queen e5; rooks a8/f8; knight c3; pawns a7/b7/c6/e6/f7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 5 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Rad8 — rook a8→d8. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qxf7+ — queen f3→f7, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Rxf7 (rook f8→f7, captures queen).
  3. Best move: Rxd8+ — rook d3→d8, captures rook, gives check. Opponent replies Rf8 (rook f7→f8).
  4. Best move: Rfxf8# — rook f1→f8, captures rook, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

deflection, kingside attack, long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame, sacrifice. The combination ends with Rfxf8# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: r4rk1/pp3ppp/2p1p3/4q3/8/P1nRPQ1P/2P3P1/5RK1 b - - 0 21

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.