Chess Puzzle #1361h — Beginner, White to move, middlegame

Rating 850 · Beginner · clearance, endgame, long, mate, mate in 3, sacrifice.

Position

White: king c2; queen d2; bishop c3; knight d6; pawns a2/b2/f4/f6/g5/h4. Black: king h8; queen g1; rooks c5/c8; pawns e6/f7/g6/h7. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: R8c7 — rook c8→c7. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Nxf7+ — knight d6→f7, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Rxf7 (rook c7→f7, captures knight).
  3. Best move: Qd8+ — queen d2→d8, gives check. Opponent replies Rf8 (rook f7→f8).
  4. Best move: Qxf8# — queen d8→f8, captures rook, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

clearance, endgame, long, mate, mate in 3, sacrifice. The combination ends with Qxf8# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 2r4k/5p1p/3NpPp1/2r3P1/5P1P/2B5/PPKQ4/6q1 b - - 10 42

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