Chess Puzzle #59KS1 — Advanced, Black to move, middlegame

Rating 1649 · Advanced · fork, long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame, pin.

Position

White: king g1; queen e2; rooks a1/f1; bishops c1/h3; knight b1; pawns a2/b4/c3/f2/g2/h2. Black: king c8; queen h4; rooks d8/h8; bishop b6; knights e5/f6; pawns a7/b7/c7/e6/f7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 1 point of material. Black to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qxe5 — queen e2→e5, captures knight. Now Black to move.
  2. Best move: Qxf2+ — queen h4→f2, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Rxf2 (rook f1→f2, captures queen).
  3. Best move: Rd1+ — rook d8→d1, gives check. Opponent replies Qe1 (queen e5→e1).
  4. Best move: Rxe1# — rook d1→e1, captures queen, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

fork, long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame, pin, sacrifice. The combination ends with Rxe1# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 2kr3r/ppp2ppp/1b2pn2/4n3/1P5q/2P4B/P3QPPP/RNB2RK1 w - - 1 14

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