Chess Puzzle #60E4Y — Expert, White to move, middlegame

Position

White: king g1; queen d2; rooks d1/e1; bishop e2; knight d4; pawns a2/b2/c4/e4/f2/g2/h2. Black: king g8; queen e7; rooks a8/f8; bishop b7; knight c6; pawns a7/b6/c7/d6/f7/g7/h6. Material is balanced. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Qxe4 — queen e7→e4, captures pawn. Now White to move.
2. Best move: Nxc6 — knight d4→c6, captures knight. Opponent replies Qxc6 (queen e4→c6, captures knight).
3. Best move: Bf3 — bishop e2→f3. Opponent replies Qxc4 (queen c6→c4, captures pawn).
4. Best move: Bxb7 — bishop f3→b7, captures bishop.

Tactical themes

advantage, long, middlegame, skewer. The key move Nxc6 wins material.

Position data

FEN: r4rk1/pbp1qpp1/1pnp3p/8/2PNP3/8/PP1QBPPP/3RR1K1 b - - 0 15

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