Chess Puzzle #E69Ho — Expert, White to move, middlegame

Rating 2312 · Expert · advanced pawn, crushing, endgame, long, rook endgame.

Position

White: king h2; rook d8; pawns a2/c4/c5/g2/h3. Black: king e5; rook e3; pawns a7/d3/f7/g6/h6. Material is balanced. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Ke4 — king e5→e4. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: c6 — pawn c5→c6. Opponent replies d2 (pawn d3→d2).
  3. Best move: c7 — pawn c6→c7. Opponent replies d1=Q (pawn d2→d1, promotes to queen).
  4. Best move: Rxd1 — rook d8→d1, captures queen.

Tactical themes

advanced pawn, crushing, endgame, long, rook endgame. The key move is c6.

Position data

FEN: 3R4/p4p2/6pp/2P1k3/2P5/3pr2P/P5PK/8 b - - 5 39

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.