Chess Puzzle #00AFG — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1545 · Intermediate · advantage, discovered attack, middlegame, short.

Position

White: king g1; queen h5; rooks a1/d1; knight f5; pawns a4/b2/c2/c5/f2/g2/h2. Black: king g8; queen c7; rooks a8/f8; bishop e6; pawns a6/b4/c4/f6/f7/g7/h7. Material is balanced. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qxc5 — queen c7→c5, captures pawn. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Nh6+ — knight f5→h6, gives check. Opponent replies gxh6 (pawn g7→h6, captures knight).
  3. Best move: Qxc5 — queen h5→c5, captures queen.

Tactical themes

advantage, discovered attack, middlegame, short. The key move is Nh6+.

Position data

FEN: r4rk1/2q2ppp/p3bp2/2P2N1Q/Ppp5/8/1PP2PPP/R2R2K1 b - - 6 21

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Puzzle data from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0). Analysis powered by Stockfish 18 in your browser.