Chess Puzzle #3PabQ — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1405 · Intermediate · mate, mate in 2, middlegame, sacrifice, short.

Position

White: king b1; queen e8; rook g6; knight e7; pawns a2/b3/d4/f2/g2/h4. Black: king h8; queen b6; rook h7; bishop g7; knights d3/f8; pawns a7/b7/c6/h5. Black is ahead by 4 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qxd4 — queen b6→d4, captures pawn. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qxf8+ — queen e8→f8, captures knight, gives check. Opponent replies Bxf8 (bishop g7→f8, captures queen).
  3. Best move: Rg8# — rook g6→g8, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

mate, mate in 2, middlegame, sacrifice, short. The combination ends with Rg8# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 4Qn1k/pp2N1br/1qp3R1/7p/3P3P/1P1n4/P4PP1/1K6 b - - 0 29

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