Chess Puzzle #2miON — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1274 · Intermediate · endgame, long, mate, mate in 3, sacrifice.

Position

White: king h1; queen d3; rook g1; bishop b1; pawns a2/c3/d4/e3/f2/f4/h2. Black: king g7; queen e7; rooks c8/f8; pawns a6/b6/c7/e6/f7/g6/h6. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qh4 — queen e7→h4. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Rxg6+ — rook g1→g6, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies fxg6 (pawn f7→g6, captures rook).
  3. Best move: Qxg6+ — queen d3→g6, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Kh8 (king g7→h8).
  4. Best move: Qh7# — queen g6→h7, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

endgame, long, mate, mate in 3, sacrifice. The combination ends with Qh7# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 2r2r2/2p1qpk1/pp2p1pp/8/3P1P2/2PQP3/P4P1P/1B4RK b - - 0 21

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