Chess Puzzle #6eWxJ — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1406 · Intermediate · endgame, long, mate, mate in 3, sacrifice.

Position

White: king h1; queen f4; rooks e4/f1; pawns b2/c2/h3. Black: king g8; queen a2; rooks f8/g6; pawns a7/b6/c5/d4/f7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 4 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qxb2 — queen a2→b2, captures pawn. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qxf7+ — queen f4→f7, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Rxf7 (rook f8→f7, captures queen).
  3. Best move: Re8+ — rook e4→e8, gives check. Opponent replies Rf8 (rook f7→f8).
  4. Best move: Rfxf8# — rook f1→f8, captures rook, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

endgame, long, mate, mate in 3, sacrifice. The combination ends with Rfxf8# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 5rk1/p4ppp/1p4r1/2p5/3pRQ2/7P/qPP5/5R1K b - - 0 25

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