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

Rating 1890 · Advanced · long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame.

Position

White: king g1; queen h6; rooks e1/f1; bishop b6; pawns a2/b2/c2/d3/g2/h2. Black: king d7; queen f5; rooks a8/h8; bishop c8; knights c6/g6; pawns d6/f4/g5/h7. Black is ahead by 4 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qf6 — queen f5→f6. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qh3+ — queen h6→h3, gives check. Opponent replies g4 (pawn g5→g4).
  3. Best move: Qxg4+ — queen h3→g4, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Qf5 (queen f6→f5).
  4. Best move: Qxf5# — queen g4→f5, captures queen, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame. The combination ends with Qxf5# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: r1b4r/3k3p/1Bnp2nQ/5qp1/5p2/3P4/PPP3PP/4RRK1 b - - 2 21

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