Chess Puzzle #3wg6H — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1286 · Intermediate · advanced pawn, endgame, mate, mate in 2, promotion, short.

Position

White: king d2; queen e7; rook h1; bishop f1; pawns c4/d7/e3/g3/h2. Black: king g8; queen a8; rook h8; bishop a1; pawns a6/b7/e6/f7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 1 point of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Bf6 — bishop a1→f6. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qe8+ — queen e7→e8, gives check. Opponent replies Qxe8 (queen a8→e8, captures queen).
  3. Best move: dxe8=Q# — pawn d7→e8, captures queen, promotes to queen, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

advanced pawn, endgame, mate, mate in 2, promotion, short. The combination ends with dxe8=Q# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: q5kr/1p1PQppp/p3p3/8/2P5/4P1P1/3K3P/b4B1R b - - 0 23

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