White to play and mate in three moves^### (F. Liardet, 2020)
Brainrook.com 2006, version Pion.ch, 2020
Entered by Fabrice

1.Kd2-d1!! Prepares an answer to 1...Kf1, but the king moves to a square where a queen promotion would come with check.

■1.-- -g1? would allow an immediate mate : 2.[g2-g1=Q]Qh3-h4#!

■1.-- Kf2-f1! , with the idea 2...e3+, was Black's only defense in the set position. 2.Kd2-d1 Kf1-f2

1...-g1

■1...Kf2-f1 2.Qh3-f3+! First queen sacrifice. 2...e4xf3 3.Bf5-d3# Here is the real reason for White's first move : with the king on d2, White would be unable to deliver that bishop check. Now the black king appears to have two flight squares, but on any of them White would have a pawn play instead.

2.[g2-g1=Q]Qh3-f1+! A kind of double queen sacrifice : White chooses to promote the black pawn to queen with check, and sacrifices its own queen in return ! 2...xf1 There is nothing else ; White would have a black pawn play to e3 and the black queen to g3. 3.[Kf2xf1]Bf5-h3# White would of course have the queen playing to f2 or the king to g2.