Chess Puzzle #25etE — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1385 · Intermediate · discovered attack, discovered check, endgame, mate, mate in 4, very long.

Position

White: king d2; queen h5; bishop h7; pawns a3/b4/c5. Black: king h8; queen a1; rook a8; bishops c8/g1; pawns a7/b7/d7/e6/g7. Black is ahead by 10 points of material. White to move.

Solution (4 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qf6 — queen a1→f6. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Bg6+ — bishop h7→g6, gives check. Opponent replies Kg8 (king h8→g8).
  3. Best move: Qh7+ — queen h5→h7, gives check. Opponent replies Kf8 (king g8→f8).
  4. Best move: Qh8+ — queen h7→h8, gives check. Opponent replies Ke7 (king f8→e7).
  5. Best move: Qe8# — queen h8→e8, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

discovered attack, discovered check, endgame, mate, mate in 4, very long. The combination ends with Qe8# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: r1b4k/pp1p2pB/4p3/2P4Q/1P6/P7/3K4/q5b1 b - - 4 28

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