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

Position

White: king g1; queen g3; rooks e1/f1; bishop a3; knight d4; pawns a2/c2/f2/g2/h2. Black: king f8; queen d8; rooks a8/h8; bishop c8; knight c6; pawns a7/b7/d5/d6/f7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Nxd4 — knight c6→d4, captures knight. Now White to move.
2. Best move: Qxd6+ — queen g3→d6, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Qxd6 (queen d8→d6, captures queen).
3. Best move: Bxd6+ — bishop a3→d6, captures queen, gives check. Opponent replies Kg8 (king f8→g8).
4. Best move: Re8# — rook e1→e8, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

back rank mate, long, mate, mate in 3, middlegame. The combination ends with Re8# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: r1bq1k1r/pp3ppp/2np4/3p4/3N4/B5Q1/P1P2PPP/4RRK1 b - - 3 14

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