Chess Puzzle #aop5Y — Expert, White to move, middlegame

Position

White: king c1; queen f5; rooks g4/h1; bishop b2; pawns a2/b3/d4/e4. Black: king h8; queen d8; rooks a8/e2; bishop d6; knights b4/b6; pawns a7/b7/c6/f6/h7. Black is ahead by 7 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Qe7 — queen d8→e7. Now White to move.
2. Best move: Rxh7+ — rook h1→h7, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Qxh7 (queen e7→h7, captures rook).
3. Best move: Qxf6+ — queen f5→f6, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Qg7 (queen h7→g7).
4. Best move: Qxg7# — queen f6→g7, captures queen, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

deflection, fork, long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame, sacrifice. The combination ends with Qxg7# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: r2q3k/pp5p/1npb1p2/5Q2/1n1PP1R1/1P6/PB2r3/2K4R b - - 2 22

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