Chess Puzzle #65qOK — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1606 · Advanced · advantage, middlegame, short.

Position

White: king b1; queen h4; rooks d1/f1; bishop d3; knight e5; pawns a2/b2/c3/f4/g2/h2. Black: king g8; queen c5; rooks c8/f8; knights e3/f6; pawns a6/b5/d5/e6/f7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 1 point of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Nxd1 — knight e3→d1, captures rook. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Nd7 — knight e5→d7. Opponent replies h6 (pawn h7→h6).
  3. Best move: Nxc5 — knight d7→c5, captures queen.

Tactical themes

advantage, middlegame, short. The key move is Nd7.

Position data

FEN: 2r2rk1/5ppp/p3pn2/1pqpN3/5P1Q/2PBn3/PP4PP/1K1R1R2 b - - 7 20

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