Chess Puzzle #2lSMk — Intermediate, White to move, opening

Rating 1319 · Intermediate · advantage, fork, opening, short.

Position

White: king g1; queen d1; rooks a1/f1; bishops c1/g2; knights d2/f3; pawns a3/b2/d4/e5/f2/g3/h2. Black: king e8; queen d8; rooks c8/h8; bishops f8/g4; knights c6/e7; pawns a7/b7/d5/e6/f7/g7/h7. Material is balanced. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Nxd4 — knight c6→d4, captures pawn. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qa4+ — queen d1→a4, gives check. Opponent replies b5 (pawn b7→b5).
  3. Best move: Qxd4 — queen a4→d4, captures knight.

Tactical themes

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

Position data

FEN: 2rqkb1r/pp2nppp/2n1p3/3pP3/3P2b1/P4NP1/1P1N1PBP/R1BQ1RK1 b k - 0 11

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