Chess Puzzle #0fK15 — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1380 · Intermediate · fork, long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame, sacrifice.

Position

White: king g2; queen d2; rook b1; bishop h6; knights c3/c6; pawns a2/b2/c2/f4. Black: king g8; queen a5; rooks b4/e8; bishops d1/h8; pawns a7/e7/f7/g6/h7. Black is ahead by 3 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qf5 — queen a5→f5. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Nxe7+ — knight c6→e7, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Rxe7 (rook e8→e7, captures knight).
  3. Best move: Qd8+ — queen d2→d8, gives check. Opponent replies Re8 (rook e7→e8).
  4. Best move: Qxe8# — queen d8→e8, captures rook, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

fork, long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame, sacrifice. The combination ends with Qxe8# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 4r1kb/p3pp1p/2N3pB/q7/1r3P2/2N5/PPPQ2K1/1R1b4 b - - 0 22

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