Chess Puzzle #M9h4f — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1746 · Advanced · exposed king, kingside attack, long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame.

Position

White: king h1; queen h5; rook c2; bishop d4; knight c5; pawns a2/b4/c3/g2/h3. Black: king g8; queen f4; rooks a8/f8; bishop f5; pawns a3/b5/c6/d5/e3/g5/h4. Black is ahead by 4 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Bxc2 — bishop f5→c2, captures rook. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qh8+ — queen h5→h8, gives check. Opponent replies Kf7 (king g8→f7).
  3. Best move: Qg7+ — queen h8→g7, gives check. Opponent replies Ke8 (king f7→e8).
  4. Best move: Qd7# — queen g7→d7, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

exposed king, kingside attack, long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame. The combination ends with Qd7# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: r4rk1/8/2p5/1pNp1bpQ/1P1B1q1p/p1P1p2P/P1R3P1/7K b - - 5 41

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