Chess Puzzle #uma7e — Expert, White to move, middlegame

Rating 2203 · Expert · advanced pawn, mate, mate in 4, middlegame, queenside attack, very long.

Position

White: king g1; queen c2; rooks b1/h3; knight e3; pawns a5/c6/e5/g2. Black: king a8; queen f4; rooks h5/h8; bishop a3; knight b8; pawns a7/d5/e6/f7/g6/h4. Black is ahead by 5 points of material. White to move.

Solution (4 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qxe5 — queen f4→e5, captures pawn. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qb3 — queen c2→b3. Opponent replies Bb4 (bishop a3→b4).
  3. Best move: Qxb4 — queen b3→b4, captures bishop. Opponent replies Qc7 (queen e5→c7).
  4. Best move: Qb7+ — queen b4→b7, gives check. Opponent replies Qxb7 (queen c7→b7, captures queen).
  5. Best move: cxb7# — pawn c6→b7, captures queen, delivers checkmate.

Tactical themes

advanced pawn, mate, mate in 4, middlegame, queenside attack, very long. The combination ends with cxb7# delivering checkmate.

Position data

FEN: kn5r/p4p2/2P1p1p1/P2pP2r/5q1p/b3N2R/2Q3P1/1R4K1 b - - 0 28

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