Chess Puzzle #1kWp8 — Intermediate, White to move, opening

Rating 1387 · Intermediate · advantage, fork, opening, short.

Position

White: king e1; queen d1; rooks a1/h1; bishops c1/f1; knight d2; pawns a2/b2/d4/e4/f3/g2/h2. Black: king e8; queen d8; rooks a8/h8; bishops b4/c8; knight g8; pawns a7/b7/d5/e6/f7/g7/h7. Material is balanced. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: dxe4 — pawn d5→e4, captures pawn. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qa4+ — queen d1→a4, gives check. Opponent replies Bd7 (bishop c8→d7).
  3. Best move: Qxb4 — queen a4→b4, captures bishop.

Tactical themes

advantage, fork, opening, short. The key move is Qa4+.

Position data

FEN: r1bqk1nr/pp3ppp/4p3/3p4/1b1PP3/5P2/PP1N2PP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 0 8

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