Chess Puzzle #8tYAW — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1518 · Intermediate · endgame, hanging piece, mate, mate in 2, short.

Position

White: king h1; queen d7; rook f1; knight e5; pawns g2/h3. Black: king g8; queen e4; rook c8; knight h6; pawns a7/b7/c5/c7/f7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 5 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qxe5 — queen e4→e5, captures knight. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qxc8+ — queen d7→c8, captures rook, gives check. Opponent replies Qe8 (queen e5→e8).
  3. Best move: Qxe8# — queen c8→e8, captures queen, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

endgame, hanging piece, mate, mate in 2, short. The combination ends with Qxe8# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 2r3k1/pppQ1ppp/7n/2p1N3/4q3/7P/6P1/5R1K b - - 1 31

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