Chess Puzzle #CISrb — Expert, White to move, middlegame

Rating 2262 · Expert · clearance, deflection, kingside attack, long, mate, mate in 3.

Position

White: king c1; queen h6; rooks f3/h1; bishop f6; pawns a3/c2/c3/e4/f2/g2. Black: king g8; queen d7; rooks a8/e6; bishop b7; knight c8; pawns a7/b6/d6/e5/g6/h7. Black is ahead by 3 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Bxe4 — bishop b7→e4, captures pawn. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Be7 — bishop f6→e7. Opponent replies Qxe7 (queen d7→e7, captures bishop).
  3. Best move: Rf8+ — rook f3→f8, gives check. Opponent replies Qxf8 (queen e7→f8, captures rook).
  4. Best move: Qxh7# — queen h6→h7, captures pawn, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

clearance, deflection, kingside attack, long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame, sacrifice. The combination ends with Qxh7# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: r1n3k1/pb1q3p/1p1prBpQ/4p3/4P3/P1P2R2/2P2PP1/2K4R b - - 5 22

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