Chess Puzzle #4y755 — Master, Black to move, middlegame

Position

White: king g1; queen c1; bishop g2; knight d2; pawns d3/e4/g3/h3. Black: king h7; queen c3; pawns a3/b7/d4/e5/f6/g6/g7. White is ahead by 3 points of material. Black to move.

Solution (8 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Qxc3 — queen c1→c3, captures queen. Now Black to move.
2. Best move: dxc3 — pawn d4→c3, captures queen. Opponent replies Nb3 (knight d2→b3).
3. Best move: c2 — pawn c3→c2. Opponent replies Nc1 (knight b3→c1).
4. Best move: b5 — pawn b7→b5. Opponent replies Kf2 (king g1→f2).
5. Best move: b4 — pawn b5→b4. Opponent replies Ke2 (king f2→e2).
6. Best move: a2 — pawn a3→a2. Opponent replies Nxa2 (knight c1→a2, captures pawn).
7. Best move: b3 — pawn b4→b3. Opponent replies Nc1 (knight a2→c1).
8. Best move: b2 — pawn b3→b2. Opponent replies Kd2 (king e2→d2).
9. Best move: b1=Q — pawn b2→b1, promotes to queen.

Tactical themes

advanced pawn, crushing, endgame, promotion, quiet move, very long. The key move dxc3 wins material.

Position data

FEN: 8/1p4pk/5pp1/4p3/3pP3/p1qP2PP/3N2B1/2Q3K1 w - - 2 34

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