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

Rating 1856 · Advanced · mate, mate in 4, middlegame, sacrifice, very long.

Position

White: king b1; queen e6; rooks d5/h2; bishop h6; pawns a2/b2/f3/g2. Black: king h8; queen a4; rooks c7/f7; bishop f6; knight e5; pawns a5/b4/h7. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (4 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Nc4 — knight e5→c4. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qxf6+ — queen e6→f6, captures bishop, gives check. Opponent replies Rxf6 (rook f7→f6, captures queen).
  3. Best move: Rd8+ — rook d5→d8, gives check. Opponent replies Qe8 (queen a4→e8).
  4. Best move: Rxe8+ — rook d8→e8, captures queen, gives check. Opponent replies Rf8 (rook f6→f8).
  5. Best move: Rxf8# — rook e8→f8, captures rook, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

mate, mate in 4, middlegame, sacrifice, very long. The combination ends with Rxf8# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: 7k/2r2r1p/4Qb1B/p2Rn3/qp6/5P2/PP4PR/1K6 b - - 0 30

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