Chess Puzzle #3RuKJ — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1717 · Advanced · advanced pawn, endgame, mate, mate in 2, promotion, short.

Position

White: king g1; queen b2; rook b1; bishop a7; pawns a4/b7/e5/f2/g2/h3. Black: king b8; queen d3; rooks d7/d8; pawns a6/c6/e6/f7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Kxa7 — king b8→a7, captures bishop. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: b8=Q+ — pawn b7→b8, promotes to queen, gives check. Opponent replies Rxb8 (rook d8→b8, captures queen).
  3. Best move: Qxb8# — queen b2→b8, captures rook, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

advanced pawn, endgame, mate, mate in 2, promotion, short. The combination ends with Qxb8# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 1k1r4/BP1r1ppp/p1p1p3/4P3/P7/3q3P/1Q3PP1/1R4K1 b - - 2 26

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