Chess Puzzle #BtvN4 — Advanced, Black to move, opening

Rating 1999 · Advanced · mate, mate in 2, opening, short.

Position

White: king e1; queen d1; rooks a1/h1; bishops d2/f1; knights c3/g1; pawns a2/b2/d4/e2/f3/g2/h3. Black: king e8; queen d8; rooks a8/h8; bishops b4/b7; knights d5/d7; pawns a7/b6/c7/e6/f7/g7/h7. Material is balanced. Black to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Nxd5 — knight c3→d5, captures knight. Now Black to move.
  2. Best move: Qh4+ — queen d8→h4, gives check. Opponent replies g3 (pawn g2→g3).
  3. Best move: Qxg3# — queen h4→g3, captures pawn, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

mate, mate in 2, opening, short. The combination ends with Qxg3# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: r2qk2r/pbpn1ppp/1p2p3/3n4/1b1P4/2N2P1P/PP1BP1P1/R2QKBNR w KQkq - 2 9

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