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

Rating 2391 · Expert · fork, mate, mate in 4, middlegame, sacrifice, very long.

Position

White: king h1; queen c2; rooks b1/f7; bishop a6; pawns a4/g2/h2. Black: king b8; queen e3; rooks d8/h8; bishop d5; pawns a7/b7/g4/h5. Black is ahead by 1 point of material. White to move.

Solution (4 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qe4 — queen e3→e4. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Rbxb7+ — rook b1→b7, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Bxb7 (bishop d5→b7, captures rook).
  3. Best move: Qc7+ — queen c2→c7, gives check. Opponent replies Ka8 (king b8→a8).
  4. Best move: Bxb7+ — bishop a6→b7, captures bishop, gives check. Opponent replies Qxb7 (queen e4→b7, captures bishop).
  5. Best move: Qxb7# — queen c7→b7, captures queen, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

fork, mate, mate in 4, middlegame, sacrifice, very long. The combination ends with Qxb7# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 1k1r3r/pp3R2/B7/3b3p/P5p1/4q3/2Q3PP/1R5K b - - 0 31

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