Chess Puzzle #23JKM — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1404 · Intermediate · advanced pawn, kingside attack, mate, mate in 2, middlegame, short.

Position

White: king g1; queen e8; rook f1; knight a4; pawns a2/b2/c2/e6/g2/h2. Black: king g8; queen c7; rook h8; bishop f8; knights c8/g6; pawns a7/c6/d5/g5/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 6 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qe7 — queen c7→e7. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qf7+ — queen e8→f7, gives check. Opponent replies Qxf7 (queen e7→f7, captures queen).
  3. Best move: exf7# — pawn e6→f7, captures queen, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

advanced pawn, kingside attack, mate, mate in 2, middlegame, short. The combination ends with exf7# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 2n1Qbkr/p1q3pp/2p1P1n1/3p2p1/N7/8/PPP3PP/5RK1 b - - 0 26

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