Chess Puzzle #kaGan — Expert, White to move, opening

Position

White: king g1; queen d1; rooks a8/f1; bishops b3/e3; knight d4; pawns b2/b5/c2/e4/f2/g2/h2. Black: king b8; queen f6; rooks d8/h8; bishops d7/f8; knights e5/e7; pawns b7/c7/d6/f7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (4 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Kxa8 — king b8→a8, captures rook. Now White to move.
2. Best move: Qa1+ — queen d1→a1, gives check. Opponent replies Kb8 (king a8→b8).
3. Best move: Qa7+ — queen a1→a7, gives check. Opponent replies Kxa7 (king b8→a7, captures queen).
4. Best move: Nc6+ — knight d4→c6, gives check. Opponent replies Ka8 (king a7→a8).
5. Best move: Ra1# — rook f1→a1, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

attraction, discovered check, double check, mate, mate in 4, middlegame, queenside attack, sacrifice, very long. The combination ends with Ra1# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: Rk1r1b1r/1ppbnppp/3p1q2/1P2n3/3NP3/1B2B3/1PP2PPP/3Q1RK1 b - - 2 13

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