Chess Puzzle #40Y0u — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1622 · Advanced · clearance, deflection, fork, mate, mate in 4, middlegame.

Position

White: king g1; queen g4; rook g6; bishop e6; pawns a2/d3/e4/f5/g2/h3. Black: king h7; queen d6; rooks a7/f8; bishop c6; pawns a4/b4/f6/g7/h6. Black is ahead by 4 points of material. White to move.

Solution (4 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qxd3 — queen d6→d3, captures pawn. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Rxh6+ — rook g6→h6, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies gxh6 (pawn g7→h6, captures rook).
  3. Best move: Qg6+ — queen g4→g6, gives check. Opponent replies Kh8 (king h7→h8).
  4. Best move: Qxh6+ — queen g6→h6, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Rh7 (rook a7→h7).
  5. Best move: Qxf8# — queen h6→f8, captures rook, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

clearance, deflection, fork, mate, mate in 4, middlegame, sacrifice, very long. The combination ends with Qxf8# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 5r2/r5pk/2bqBpRp/5P2/pp2P1Q1/3P3P/P5P1/6K1 b - - 1 34

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