Chess Puzzle #C15Du — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1931 · Advanced · attraction, kingside attack, long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame.

Position

White: king g2; queen e6; rooks e1/h1; knight f4; pawns a2/b4/c5/f2. Black: king g8; queen b2; rooks a8/f8; bishop e8; pawns a7/b7/c6/d5/e5/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 3 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Kh8 — king g8→h8. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Rxh7+ — rook h1→h7, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Kxh7 (king h8→h7, captures rook).
  3. Best move: Rh1+ — rook e1→h1, gives check. Opponent replies Bh5 (bishop e8→h5).
  4. Best move: Rxh5# — rook h1→h5, captures bishop, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

attraction, kingside attack, long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame, sacrifice. The combination ends with Rxh5# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: r3brk1/pp4pp/2p1Q3/2Ppp3/1P3N2/8/Pq3PK1/4R2R b - - 1 30

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