Chess Puzzle #DfhED — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1603 · Advanced · advantage, endgame, fork, very long.

Position

White: king h2; queen h3; rook h7; pawns a2/b3/f2/f3. Black: king g8; queen f6; rook g5; pawns a6/b5/c7/d6/g7. Black is ahead by 1 point of material. White to move.

Solution (5 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qg6 — queen f6→g6. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Rh8+ — rook h7→h8, gives check. Opponent replies Kf7 (king g8→f7).
  3. Best move: Qd7+ — queen h3→d7, gives check. Opponent replies Kf6 (king f7→f6).
  4. Best move: Rf8+ — rook h8→f8, gives check. Opponent replies Ke5 (king f6→e5).
  5. Best move: f4+ — pawn f3→f4, gives check. Opponent replies Kd4 (king e5→d4).
  6. Best move: fxg5 — pawn f4→g5, captures rook.

Tactical themes

advantage, endgame, fork, very long. The key move is Rh8+.

Position data

FEN: 6k1/2p3pR/p2p1q2/1p4r1/8/1P3P1Q/P4P1K/8 b - - 0 38

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