Chess Puzzle #4wJI8 — Intermediate, Black to move, middlegame

Rating 1296 · Intermediate · advantage, fork, middlegame, short.

Position

White: king g1; queen f2; rooks a1/f1; bishop d3; knights c3/e2; pawns a3/b4/c5/f3/g2/h2. Black: king f8; queen e5; rooks a8/e6; bishop d7; knights b8/f6; pawns a7/b7/c6/f7/g7/h4. Material is balanced. Black to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qxh4 — queen f2→h4, captures pawn. Now Black to move.
  2. Best move: Qe3+ — queen e5→e3, gives check. Opponent replies Rf2 (rook f1→f2).
  3. Best move: Qxd3 — queen e3→d3, captures bishop.

Tactical themes

advantage, fork, middlegame, short. The key move is Qe3+.

Position data

FEN: rn3k2/pp1b1pp1/2p1rn2/2P1q3/1P5p/P1NB1P2/4NQPP/R4RK1 w - - 3 23

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