Chess Puzzle #KK3O0 — Expert, White to move, middlegame

Rating 2326 · Expert · advanced pawn, deflection, kingside attack, long, mate, mate in 3.

Position

White: king d2; queen b3; rooks e1/h1; knight g5; pawns a2/b2/e3/e7/f4/h6. Black: king g8; queen f2; rooks a8/f7; bishops d6/e8; knight h5; pawns a7/b7/e2/e4/g7. Black is ahead by 5 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Nxf4 — knight h5→f4, captures pawn. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qxf7+ — queen b3→f7, captures rook, gives check. Opponent replies Bxf7 (bishop e8→f7, captures queen).
  3. Best move: h7+ — pawn h6→h7, gives check. Opponent replies Kh8 (king g8→h8).
  4. Best move: Nxf7# — knight g5→f7, captures bishop, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

advanced pawn, deflection, kingside attack, long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame, sacrifice. The combination ends with Nxf7# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: r3b1k1/pp2Prp1/3b3P/6Nn/4pP2/1Q2P3/PP1Kpq2/4R2R b - - 4 26

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