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

Rating 1773 · Advanced · fork, mate, mate in 2, middlegame, short.

Position

White: king f1; queen f7; rooks d1/h1; bishop f4; knight h7; pawns a2/c2/c4/f2/g2/h2. Black: king d8; queen b2; rooks a8/h8; bishops c8/e7; knight c6; pawns b5/b7/c5/d7/e6/g7. Black is ahead by 3 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Rxh7 — rook h8→h7, captures knight. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qg8+ — queen f7→g8, gives check. Opponent replies Bf8 (bishop e7→f8).
  3. Best move: Qxf8# — queen g8→f8, captures bishop, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

fork, mate, mate in 2, middlegame, short. The combination ends with Qxf8# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: r1bk3r/1p1pbQpN/2n1p3/1pp5/2P2B2/8/PqP2PPP/3R1K1R b - - 1 16

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