White to play and mate in two.
Your opponent moves…
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40. Qxe6+ Kc7 41. Qd6#
Dovetail mate. The queen takes the pawn on e6 with check. The king has only one square, c7. Then the queen steps to d6 with mate, protected by the bishop on b4. The king's own pieces stand on b7 and c8, and b8 is on the same diagonal as the queen. The pattern is called the dovetail mate.
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The puzzle comes from Lichess. The position is from a real game.
Updated November 8, 2026