Chess Puzzle #4iZw4 — Advanced, Black to move, middlegame

Rating 1754 · Advanced · mate, mate in 2, middlegame, sacrifice, short.

Position

White: king h1; rooks b1/f1; bishop b3; knight d5; pawns a4/g2/h3. Black: king h8; queen c3; rooks h6/h7; bishop a7; pawns a6/b7/d3/f3/f5. Black is ahead by 8 points of material. Black to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Nxc3 — knight d5→c3, captures queen. Now Black to move.
  2. Best move: Rxh3+ — rook h6→h3, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies gxh3 (pawn g2→h3, captures rook).
  3. Best move: Rxh3# — rook h7→h3, captures pawn, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

mate, mate in 2, middlegame, sacrifice, short. The combination ends with Rxh3# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 7k/bp5r/p6r/3N1p2/P7/1Bqp1p1P/6P1/1R3R1K w - - 0 44

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