Chess Puzzle #2mYki — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1679 · Advanced · fork, long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame, sacrifice.

Position

White: king h1; queen h5; rooks g1/g6; knight d2; pawns a2/b2/c3/d4/f2/f4/h2. Black: king h8; queen d8; rooks a8/f8; bishop a6; knight e8; pawns a5/b5/c4/d5/e5/f5/g7/h6. Black is ahead by 4 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Ra7 — rook a8→a7. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Rxh6+ — rook g6→h6, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies gxh6 (pawn g7→h6, captures rook).
  3. Best move: Qxh6+ — queen h5→h6, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Rh7 (rook a7→h7).
  4. Best move: Qxf8# — queen h6→f8, captures rook, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

fork, long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame, sacrifice. The combination ends with Qxf8# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: r2qnr1k/6p1/b5Rp/pp1ppp1Q/2pP1P2/2P5/PP1N1P1P/6RK b - - 1 22

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