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It’s time for a Tuesday Puzzle!  

 
If anyone has any trouble with the colors below, please DM @Nacl_y_K9 or myself for instructions on how to make the analysis easier to read.

 
Legend:

Observations in Yellow
Strategies in Purple
Responses (Unforced, Anticipated or Actual) in Orange
Fails (Potential or Actual) in Red
Successes (Potential or Actual) in Green
 
 
On setting up the board, we observe:

* We are Equal on Rooks.

* We are down a Bishop, the dark.

* We are up a kNight.

* We both have Queens.

* We are equal on Pawns.

* We have an immediate checking opportunity with Qh7+, but it’s a Queen sac.

* Black’s King has 2 escape squares, and is locked to their back rank, so there is definitely a King Trap.

* It is our turn to move.

* The puzzle’s title is “Double-Crosser”.

* It is Tuesday.

 
The above observations inform potential strategies:

 
Our sole immediate checking opportunity fails without giving us a better position.

 
We are exactly equal on material, which means that if we can capture even a minor piece, we can shift the balance of the game and give ourselves a decisive advantage moving forward.

 
Lacking an immediate check, and lacking an immediate advantageous capture, we turn to tactics/threats, and we have a powerful one here.

 
Opening with Nfg5, prepares for Qxh7#, and is a threat that must be responded to. Black can either Ndf6 (covering h7), Qxg5 (eliminating the threat), or g6 (blocking our Queen’s path to h7). However with this particular opening play we’ve not just issued a threat that cannot be ignored, we’ve additionally revealed a discovered attack from our Bishop on Black’s Bishop. So…

-----If Ndf6, we can Bxb7, winning Black’s Bishop, and threatening Black’s c Rook.

-----If Qxg5, we can fxg5, winning Black’s Queen for a kNight, and maintaining our threat on Black’s Bishop.

-----If g6, we can Bxb7, winning Black’s Bishop, and threatening Black’s c Rook.

 
In any of the above 3 response scenarios, we emerge with a decisive material advantage. We’ve got this.

 
Ok, it’s a plan – but how could it fail?

 
Today we open with a quiet forcing move, we threaten mate on our next play, and it allows for 3 response options. If response 1, we win a decisive material advantage. If response 2, we win a decisive material advantage. If response 3, we win a decisive material advantage. If none of the 3 response options are taken, we deliver checkmate. This plan cannot fail.

 
Ok, so is there a BETTER PLAN?

 
Not today.

 
Confident in my plan, I set the board aside and engage with the puzzle online.

Nfg5 is correct, and Black chooses to Nf6.

Bxb7 is correct, and the PUZZLE IS SOLVED!!!

 
A tidy Tuesday puzzle from a mystery puzzler.

 
Have an awesome day everyone!