Chess Puzzle #9ZyBR — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Position

White: king c1; queen c8; rooks g1/h1; bishop c2; pawns b4/c3/g4. Black: king g8; queen a2; rooks e5/f7; bishop b8; pawns b6/f6/g6/h7. Black is ahead by 1 point of material. White to move.

Solution (4 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Kg7 — king g8→g7. Now White to move.
2. Best move: Rxh7+ — rook h1→h7, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Kxh7 (king g7→h7, captures rook).
3. Best move: Rh1+ — rook g1→h1, gives check. Opponent replies Rh5 (rook e5→h5).
4. Best move: Rxh5+ — rook h1→h5, captures rook, gives check. Opponent replies Kg7 (king h7→g7).
5. Best move: Qh8# — queen c8→h8, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

attraction, mate, mate in 4, middlegame, pin, sacrifice, very long. The combination ends with Qh8# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 1bQ3k1/5r1p/1p3pp1/4r3/1P4P1/2P5/q1B5/2K3RR b - - 6 35

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