James Kylstra

This beautiful chess puzzle

Recommended by James Kylstra

3 months ago

Comments

Sign up to leave a comment.

Chris Mueller
@cm

Love it when a plan comes together

Daniel Haven
@danielhaven

Let me see if I can guess: move rook up to left of White king.

- White King cannot go right, because it will be attacked by Rook
- White King cannot go left diagonal, because it will be attacked by rook and pawn
- White King cannot go forward, because it will be attacked by adjacent pawn

White King has nowhere to go. Checkmate.

James Kylstra
@james
That’s (spoiler alert) the right first move, but white king can take the rook! So what happens next?
Daniel Haven
@danielhaven

How'd I miss that? Alright, move black queen to intercept King at h7.

White King can only go to g1.

Move Queen to h2 (guarded by pawn).

White King can only go to f1.

Move Queen to h1.

Checkmate.

White King cannot go anywhere to escape Queen or pawns.

James Kylstra
@james
Unfortunately the black queen is pinned by the bishop and can’t move. You’ll have to do it without her!
James Kylstra
@james
(Mostly)
Daniel Haven
@danielhaven

I ended up simulating it in https://www.365chess.com/.

1. Rook to h1 (White King takes rook)
2. Pawn to g2 (White King moves back to g1)
3. Bishop to h2 (guarded by Queen; checkmate)

James Kylstra
@james
🎯🎯🎯
Jonathan
@j0nathan
As Gotham Chess would say, we must sacrifice, THE ROOK

Follow James Kylstra

By submitting, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy

© 2026PrivacyTerms