Chess Puzzle #EUE45 — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1757 · Advanced · deflection, kingside attack, long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame.

Position

White: king c1; queen d3; rooks h1/h6; knight c3; pawns a2/b3/d4/e5/f3/g4. Black: king g8; queen d8; rooks a8/e8; bishop g7; pawns a3/b7/c5/e7/f7. White is ahead by 1 point of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qxd4 — queen d8→d4, captures pawn. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Rh8+ — rook h6→h8, gives check. Opponent replies Bxh8 (bishop g7→h8, captures rook).
  3. Best move: Qh7+ — queen d3→h7, gives check. Opponent replies Kf8 (king g8→f8).
  4. Best move: Qxh8# — queen h7→h8, captures bishop, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

deflection, kingside attack, long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame, sacrifice. The combination ends with Qxh8# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: r2qr1k1/1p2ppb1/7R/2p1P3/3P2P1/pPNQ1P2/P7/2K4R b - - 0 23

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