2025/05/02 DPA: "Clearance on Aisle E!"

White to move:

.c

 Black has a dark-squared weakness at g7 and no dark-squared Bishop to defend.

White's Queen is en prise.

White would like to get his Queen onto the a1-h8 diagonal to play cg7# but e5 is blocked by his own Rook and d4, while open, still can't see g7 due to the same Rook.

1. Qf6 threatens 2. Qg7# and if 1. ... exf6  2. Rxe8+ Rxe8  3. Rxe8#.

But Black's Knight also defends f6 - sc remove the defender:  1. Rxd5 and now, if 1. ... Rxd5, the above plan works.

The alternative is to simply accept the loss of a full piece and it's unlikely the solution will go that route.

I was right:

.

The key was recognizing the dark square weakness on g7, seeing that the Knight both defended f6 and attacked the Queen so it needed to be removed, and that, once the Knight was gone, 2. Qf6 led to the win [Black could have played 2. ... Qxf2+, hoping for 3. Kxf2 Rf5+ but that is still winning for White].

.

What may have made this puzzle more difficult was ESSAS [Empty Square Sac Avoidance Syndrome]:  2. Qf6 was a Queen sac offer on an empty square [we didn't capture anything], which tends to make it more difficult to see and conceive].