Chess Puzzle #2ah3h — Advanced, Black to move, middlegame

Rating 1820 · Advanced · endgame, equality, hanging piece, short.

Position

White: king a2; queen a7; rooks c5/h1; knight f3; pawns f2/g2/g5. Black: king d8; queen b4; rook b8; pawns d5/e6/f7/g7/h7. White is ahead by 6 points of material. Black to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Rxd5+ — rook c5→d5, captures pawn, gives check. Now Black to move.
  2. Best move: exd5 — pawn e6→d5, captures rook. Opponent replies Qa3 (queen a7→a3).
  3. Best move: Qc4+ — queen b4→c4, gives check.

Tactical themes

endgame, equality, hanging piece, short. The key move exd5 wins material.

Position data

FEN: 1r1k4/Q4ppp/4p3/2Rp2P1/1q6/5N2/K4PP1/7R w - - 1 36

Solve this puzzle interactively on Brilliant Knight — free tactics training powered by Stockfish 18, no signup required.

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