Chess Puzzle #4B84n — Beginner, Black to move, middlegame

Rating 1056 · Beginner · advantage, fork, opening, short.

Position

White: king e1; queen d1; rooks a1/h1; bishops b5/c1; knight e5; pawns a2/b2/d4/f2/g2/h2. Black: king e8; queen d8; rooks a8/h8; bishops b1/f8; knights d7/f6; pawns a7/b7/e7/f7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 3 points of material. Black to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Rxb1 — rook a1→b1, captures bishop. Now Black to move.
  2. Best move: Qa5+ — queen d8→a5, gives check. Opponent replies b4 (pawn b2→b4).
  3. Best move: Qxb5 — queen a5→b5, captures bishop.

Tactical themes

advantage, fork, opening, short. The key move is Qa5+.

Position data

FEN: r2qkb1r/pp1npppp/5n2/1B2N3/3P4/8/PP3PPP/RbBQK2R w KQkq - 0 9

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