Chess Puzzle #B8aka — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Position

White: king g1; queen a5; rooks a1/f5; bishop f4; knight e4; pawns a2/b2/f2/g2/h2. Black: king a8; queen c7; rooks d8/h8; bishop d4; knight b6; pawns a7/b7/c6/f7/g6/g7. Black is ahead by 1 point of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Qe7 — queen c7→e7. Now White to move.
2. Best move: Qxa7+ — queen a5→a7, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Kxa7 (king a8→a7, captures queen).
3. Best move: Ra5# — rook f5→a5, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

attraction, mate, mate in 2, middlegame, queenside attack, sacrifice, short. The combination ends with Ra5# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: k2r3r/ppq2pp1/1np3p1/Q4R2/3bNB2/8/PP3PPP/R5K1 b - - 3 20

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