Chess Puzzle #8tmuW — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1687 · Advanced · deflection, kingside attack, mate, mate in 5, middlegame, very long.

Position

White: king b1; queen g1; rook h8; bishop f4; knight g5; pawns a3/b2/c2/f2. Black: king g8; queen d5; rooks a8/e8; knight c4; pawns a6/b5/d3/e6/f5/g4/g7. Black is ahead by 5 points of material. White to move.

Solution (5 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Kxh8 — king g8→h8, captures rook. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qh2+ — queen g1→h2, gives check. Opponent replies Kg8 (king h8→g8).
  3. Best move: Qh7+ — queen h2→h7, gives check. Opponent replies Kf8 (king g8→f8).
  4. Best move: Qh8+ — queen h7→h8, gives check. Opponent replies Ke7 (king f8→e7).
  5. Best move: Qxg7+ — queen h8→g7, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Kd8 (king e7→d8).
  6. Best move: Qc7# — queen g7→c7, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

deflection, kingside attack, mate, mate in 5, middlegame, very long. The combination ends with Qc7# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: r3r1kR/6p1/p3p3/1p1q1pN1/2n2Bp1/P2p4/1PP2P2/1K4Q1 b - - 1 29

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.