Chess Puzzle #IoB2K — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1717 · Advanced · endgame, mate, mate in 2, sacrifice, short.

Position

White: king g1; queen c3; rook f7; knight e8; pawns a2/c4/d5/e4/g2/h6. Black: king h8; queen e7; rooks a8/e5; bishop c8; pawns c5/g6/h7. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qxe8 — queen e7→e8, captures knight. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qxe5+ — queen c3→e5, captures rook, gives check. Opponent replies Qxe5 (queen e8→e5, captures queen).
  3. Best move: Rf8# — rook f7→f8, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

endgame, mate, mate in 2, sacrifice, short. The combination ends with Rf8# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: r1b1N2k/4qR1p/6pP/2pPr3/2P1P3/2Q5/P5P1/6K1 b - - 0 35

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