Chess Puzzles: And Capablanca Sacrifices the ....

If you are interested in the chess universe, surely you must've heard about Jose Raul Capablanca - one of the greatest tactical chess players in this world. He was the chess champion from 1921 till 1927 and we all know why.

His opponent in the puzzle I'm about to show you is no weak player either; Ossip Bernstein. Ossip Bernstein is a French chess player and businessman who risked his life for a chess match. You heard me right, Ossip was arrested and was supposed to be executed. But the firing officer presented to him a deal, "Play chess with me. If you win, you go free. If you lose, you die."

Let's come back to the puzzle:

 As mentioned in the title, the answer to this puzzle is to sacrifice a piece. Which piece and how is what you decide. I already gave you a hint so please take a deep breath and think for a couple of minutes. Not kidding, but it took me 15 minutes to find the answer and it is extraordinary.

When I was first presented this puzzle, I laughed thinking it was a joke. But no my friends, there is a way for black to win the white rook. It is what stockfish calls a "brilliant move" played by Capablanca.

Answer

Truly a brilliant move. If Qxb2, then Rd8#. If the Queen moves somewhere else, we grab the rook even if the Queen is defending it because we still have back rank mate. And no, you cannot pin the white queen if it slides back to the first row with the rook, because of back rank weakness for black. 

Stay tuned for more interesting puzzles played by famous and strong players.