Chess Puzzle #3cwJQ — Advanced, Black to move, middlegame

Position

White: king a3; queen c1; rooks e1/h1; bishop d5; knight a4; pawns a2/b3/c4/h3. Black: king h8; queen a5; rooks b8/f2; bishop h5; pawns a7/c5/d6/g7/h6. White is ahead by 2 points of material. Black to move.

Solution (2 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Qc3 — queen c1→c3. Now Black to move.
2. Best move: Qb4+ — queen a5→b4, gives check. Opponent replies Qxb4 (queen c3→b4, captures queen).
3. Best move: cxb4# — pawn c5→b4, captures queen, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

collinear, mate, mate in 2, middlegame, short. The combination ends with cxb4# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 1r5k/p5p1/3p3p/q1pB3b/N1P5/KP5P/P4r2/2Q1R2R w - - 4 30

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