Chess Puzzle #CCuVS — Advanced, Black to move, middlegame

Rating 1612 · Advanced · endgame, mate, mate in 2, pin, sacrifice, short.

Position

White: king g1; queen b3; rook f1; knight c4; pawns a2/b2/c3/f2/g2/h2. Black: king h8; queen f6; rook e8; bishop c5; pawns a7/b7/g7/h7. White is ahead by 2 points of material. Black to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qxb7 — queen b3→b7, captures pawn. Now Black to move.
  2. Best move: Qxf2+ — queen f6→f2, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Rxf2 (rook f1→f2, captures queen).
  3. Best move: Re1# — rook e8→e1, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

endgame, mate, mate in 2, pin, sacrifice, short. The combination ends with Re1# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 4r2k/pp4pp/5q2/2b5/2N5/1QP5/PP3PPP/5RK1 w - - 0 23

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.