Chess Puzzle #I8oih — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1443 · Intermediate · attraction, kingside attack, mate, mate in 2, middlegame, sacrifice.

Position

White: king c1; queen g3; rooks g7/h5; bishop f4; pawns a3/b2/c2/e3/e5/f2/g2/h6. Black: king h8; queen f5; rooks a8/f8; bishop b7; knight d7; pawns a6/b5/c5/d5/e4/e6/h7. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qxh5 — queen f5→h5, captures rook. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Rxh7+ — rook g7→h7, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Kxh7 (king h8→h7, captures rook).
  3. Best move: Qg7# — queen g3→g7, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

attraction, kingside attack, mate, mate in 2, middlegame, sacrifice, short. The combination ends with Qg7# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: r4r1k/1b1n2Rp/p3p2P/1pppPq1R/4pB2/P3P1Q1/1PP2PP1/2K5 b - - 9 25

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.