Chess Puzzle #38Dg9 — Expert, Black to move, middlegame

Position

White: king c1; queen d2; rooks d1/h1; bishops c3/f1; pawns b2/c2/e4/f3/g4. Black: king h7; queen a2; rook f8; bishops e6/g7; knight f6; pawns a7/b7/d6/g6/h6. White is ahead by 2 points of material. Black to move.

Solution (3 moves)

1. Opponent setup: b3 — pawn b2→b3. Now Black to move.
2. Best move: Nxe4 — knight f6→e4, captures pawn. Opponent replies fxe4 (pawn f3→e4, captures knight).
3. Best move: Rf2 — rook f8→f2. Opponent replies Bxg7 (bishop c3→g7, captures bishop).
4. Best move: Rxd2 — rook f2→d2, captures queen.

Tactical themes

advantage, clearance, long, middlegame, sacrifice. The key move Nxe4 wins material.

Position data

FEN: 5r2/pp4bk/3pbnpp/8/4P1P1/2B2P2/qPPQ4/2KR1B1R w - - 0 19

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