Chess Puzzle #HaFKC — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1588 · Intermediate · endgame, mate, mate in 2, sacrifice, short.

Position

White: king g1; queen h5; rook f7; bishop d3; pawns a5/b4/e5/g2/h3. Black: king h8; queen f8; rook g8; knight d4; pawns a6/b7/d5/e6/g7/h6. Black is ahead by 1 point of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qxb4 — queen f8→b4, captures pawn. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qxh6+ — queen h5→h6, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies gxh6 (pawn g7→h6, captures queen).
  3. Best move: Rh7# — rook f7→h7, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

endgame, mate, mate in 2, sacrifice, short. The combination ends with Rh7# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 5qrk/1p3Rp1/p3p2p/P2pP2Q/1P1n4/3B3P/6P1/6K1 b - - 0 31

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