Chess Puzzle #7IZTJ — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1960 · Advanced · advanced pawn, mate, mate in 2, middlegame, short.

Position

White: king f3; queen c4; rook e1; bishops f4/g2; knight c3; pawns a2/c2/d6/f5/g3/h2. Black: king d8; queen b2; rooks a8/h8; bishops c8/f8; knight g4; pawns a7/b7/d7/f7/g7/h5. Black is ahead by 5 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qb6 — queen b2→b6. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qc7+ — queen c4→c7, gives check. Opponent replies Qxc7 (queen b6→c7, captures queen).
  3. Best move: dxc7# — pawn d6→c7, captures queen, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

advanced pawn, mate, mate in 2, middlegame, short. The combination ends with dxc7# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: r1bk1b1r/pp1p1pp1/3P4/5P1p/2Q2Bn1/2N2KP1/PqP3BP/4R3 b - - 3 19

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