Chess Puzzle #I8Sis — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1885 · Advanced · kingside attack, long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame.

Position

White: king b1; queen g5; rooks d1/h1; bishop f6; knight h5; pawns a3/b2/c2/e4/f3/g2/h2. Black: king g8; queen e7; rooks a8/d8; bishop b5; knight g6; pawns c5/d6/f7/g7/h7. White is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: gxf6 — pawn g7→f6, captures bishop. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qh6 — queen g5→h6. Opponent replies Qf8 (queen e7→f8).
  3. Best move: Nxf6+ — knight h5→f6, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Kh8 (king g8→h8).
  4. Best move: Qxh7# — queen h6→h7, captures pawn, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

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

Position data

FEN: r2r2k1/4qppp/3p1Bn1/1bp3QN/4P3/P4P2/1PP3PP/1K1R3R b - - 0 23

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