Chess Puzzle #1dl72 — Expert, White to move, opening

Position

White: king e1; queen h5; rooks a1/h1; bishops c1/f1; knight c3; pawns a2/b2/c2/e4/e5/f6/g2. Black: king g7; queen d8; rooks a8/h8; bishops c5/c8; knights c6/g6; pawns a6/b7/c7/d7/f7/g5. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (5 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Kg8 — king g7→g8. Now White to move.
2. Best move: Qxg6+ — queen h5→g6, captures knight, gives check. Opponent replies fxg6 (pawn f7→g6, captures queen).
3. Best move: Bc4+ — bishop f1→c4, gives check. Opponent replies d5 (pawn d7→d5).
4. Best move: exd6+ — pawn e5→d6, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Be6 (bishop c8→e6).
5. Best move: Bxe6+ — bishop c4→e6, captures bishop, gives check. Opponent replies Kf8 (king g8→f8).
6. Best move: Rxh8# — rook h1→h8, captures rook, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

discovered attack, en passant, kingside attack, mate, mate in 5, middlegame, sacrifice, very long. The combination ends with Rxh8# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: r1bq3r/1ppp1pk1/p1n2Pn1/2b1P1pQ/4P3/2N5/PPP3P1/R1B1KB1R b KQ - 0 14

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