A beautiful mate in 2 puzzle!

This puzzle by George Carpenter was composed in 1874
White has a beautiful solution to this puzzle. Mate in 2 moves, can you see how?
I saw this puzzle on the Facebook site "Two Movers", check it out here:
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[@plokenv]

Solved it in few minutes. Nice easy puzzle to warmup my chess skills
Thanks for bringing this puzzle up ❤

[@kimbirch1202]

Wow, I actually got this one.
If its not a sacrifice, it must be zugzwang, for most of these puzzles of mate in two.

[@braddevon1283]

Very beautiful soo beautiful 😂👍👍👍 love it

[@bobwinters6665]

Why not move white queen to A6, forcing black king to A3; then WQ X BB to A5 & Checkmate.

[@Ahldor]

Met with pawn to C4 and there is no checkmate next move.

[@giovannicorno1247]

I saw it: I imagine "if it were Black to move?" And I understood it was another zugzwang issue😊

[@johnkesich8696]

I suspect "What if it were black to move?" is a good strategy to solving mate in 2 puzzles. Look for black's move where you can't respond with mate in one, and find a move that allows mate there without messing up the others.
Unfortunately, I doubt this will be very useful in real games.

[@bunpeishiratori5849]

I wish you would have been more clear why the bishop had to go to d7 rather than e8. You eventually got there but almost as an afterthought and without explanation.

[@TysonJensen]

@mythbusters866 Yes, but normally in these explanations that would be explicitly called out, like "we have to move the bishop, it's important that we don't move it to e8, you'll see why in a minute" or something.

[@ashoksafaya5397]

Good calculation excercise, thanks.

[@sverige1947]

You could use Queen in A6 too....

[@ytmndman]

Qa6 c4 and there's no mate in 1

[@sverige1947]

@@ytmndman Yeah thank you

[@aymanbaklizi8300]

@@ytmndman Qa6 c4 Qd6#

[@ytmndman]

@@aymanbaklizi8300 Queen can't go to d6, the white bishop blocks it

[@petersiegfriedkrug]

1,Bd7. 10 seconds I´ve needed. This is too much time for so easy puzzle.

[@ashwanibeohar8172]

Move queen to g8, and next give check with queen to b3,
Or give check with queen to f 8 if black blocks this way by moving pawn to C4.
Check and mate in 2

[@adomaskuzinas2137]

So where is your mate after Qg8 Bd8?
If Qb3+ Ka5

[@dustbagwx5186]

After QG8 black can move the dark square bishop anywhere opening A5 for the king, no mate in 2.

[@HENRYSAMANTE-d8s]

Question the back move first

[@donc9836]

i was expecting a quiet move... hahaha

[@DonJC49]

I got it within seconds!
(that is … seconds after I saw the 1st visible comment underneath the puzzle which "spilled the beans") 😖

[@dragandjordjevic5603]

How about if queen goes to A7.

[@dragandjordjevic5603]

Well, not good for king C4

[@MichelleSirilan-fz7pu]

Qa7

[@JustinKeithVillanueva-zp3op]

Bd7

[@johannschneider7302]

Queen A6

[@johannschneider7302]

You are right, my mistake.

[@vijaykumarbargah2399]

Qh6 is alternative solution

[@nickcellino1503]

Fails to c4.

[@tobiasisback4605]

But we need to know whose move it is?

[@bosatsu76]

1st... Q to A6
2nd... Q to B5
I'm sure I'm wrong.

[@DissonantCat]

I also thought Q to A6

[@cyborg428105]

Wouldn’t Be8 yield the same result?

[@Chess-strategy]

No, because it will block the queen. If black plays c5 we need to be able to play Qf8 checkmate.