Chess Puzzle #5SYII — Master, White to move, middlegame

Position

White: king g1; queen a8; rooks a1/f1; bishops a3/f3; knight d6; pawns a2/c5/e4/f2/g2/h2. Black: king h8; queen d8; rooks b5/f8; bishop b8; knights d7/g6; pawns c6/d4/e5/g7/h7. White is ahead by 1 point of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Bxd6 — bishop b8→d6, captures knight. Now White to move.
2. Best move: Qxd8 — queen a8→d8, captures queen. Opponent replies Rxd8 (rook f8→d8, captures queen).
3. Best move: cxd6 — pawn c5→d6, captures bishop.

Tactical themes

equality, intermezzo, middlegame, short. The key move Qxd8 wins material.

Position data

FEN: Qb1q1r1k/3n2pp/2pN2n1/1rP1p3/3pP3/B4B2/P4PPP/R4RK1 b - - 7 20

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