Chess Puzzle #8x9ue — Advanced, Black to move, middlegame

Rating 1910 · Advanced · endgame, exposed king, mate, mate in 4, very long.

Position

White: king h2; queen h6; rooks c7/f4; pawns a4/b5/f5/g2. Black: king h8; queen e5; rooks g8/h3; pawns b6/b7/d6/f6/h7. Black is ahead by 1 point of material. Black to move.

Solution (4 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Kxh3 — king h2→h3, captures rook. Now Black to move.
  2. Best move: Qe3+ — queen e5→e3, gives check. Opponent replies Kh4 (king h3→h4).
  3. Best move: Qg3+ — queen e3→g3, gives check. Opponent replies Kh5 (king h4→h5).
  4. Best move: Rg5+ — rook g8→g5, gives check. Opponent replies Qxg5 (queen h6→g5, captures rook).
  5. Best move: Qxg5# — queen g3→g5, captures queen, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

endgame, exposed king, mate, mate in 4, very long. The combination ends with Qxg5# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 6rk/1pR4p/1p1p1p1Q/1P2qP2/P4R2/7r/6PK/8 w - - 0 34

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