Chess Puzzle #J4QFC — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1754 · Advanced · endgame, long, mate, mate in 3.

Position

White: king h1; queen d2; rooks e1/f8; pawns b2/g2/h2. Black: king g8; queen c5; rook f6; pawns a5/f7/g6/h7. White is ahead by 4 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Kxf8 — king g8→f8, captures rook. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qh6+ — queen d2→h6, gives check. Opponent replies Kg8 (king f8→g8).
  3. Best move: Re8+ — rook e1→e8, gives check. Opponent replies Qf8 (queen c5→f8).
  4. Best move: Rxf8# — rook e8→f8, captures queen, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

endgame, long, mate, mate in 3. The combination ends with Rxf8# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 5Rk1/5p1p/5rp1/p1q5/8/8/1P1Q2PP/4R2K b - - 0 37

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.