Chess Puzzle #0J7XL — Intermediate, White to move, opening

Rating 1466 · Intermediate · advantage, middlegame, short.

Position

White: king h1; queen f1; rook a1; bishops c1/c4; knight c3; pawns a2/b2/c2/d2/e4/f2/f3/h2. Black: king e8; queen d8; rooks a8/h8; bishop c5; knight g8; pawns a7/b7/c6/d6/e5/f7/g6/h7. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qg5 — queen d8→g5. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: d4 — pawn d2→d4. Opponent replies Qf6 (queen g5→f6).
  3. Best move: dxc5 — pawn d4→c5, captures bishop.

Tactical themes

advantage, middlegame, short. The key move is d4.

Position data

FEN: r2qk1nr/pp3p1p/2pp2p1/2b1p3/2B1P3/2N2P2/PPPP1P1P/R1B2Q1K b kq - 1 12

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