This mate in 3 begins with white playing N-f5 discovered check. Black is virtually forced to play N-e7.  (If black plays K-e8, mate follows with Q-c8, if black plays K-g8, white sacrifices the queen with Q-f8 check and after Kxf8, white mates with R-c8.)  So, after black plays N-e7, white mates in two with Q-c8 check, black plays Nxc8 and then white checkmates with R-c8.

I hope you found the answer. Look for another new challenging chess strategy puzzle in my next post! If you would like to have these puzzles sent to you, just add your email address in the “Subscription Options” box and click “Subscribe.”