Chess Puzzle #6ZGuS — Master, White to move, middlegame

Position

White: king g1; queen f3; rooks f2/f7; knight b3; pawns a2/c3/d4/g2/h2. Black: king g8; queen e8; rook a8; bishops b5/h6; knight a4; pawns a7/b7/d5/e6/g6/h7. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Rc8 — rook a8→c8. Now White to move.
2. Best move: Qf6 — queen f3→f6. Opponent replies Nxc3 (knight a4→c3, captures pawn).
3. Best move: Re7 — rook f7→e7. Opponent replies Qxe7 (queen e8→e7, captures rook).
4. Best move: Qxe7 — queen f6→e7, captures queen.

Tactical themes

advantage, long, middlegame. The key move is Qf6.

Position data

FEN: r3q1k1/pp3R1p/4p1pb/1b1p4/n2P4/1NP2Q2/P4RPP/6K1 b - - 7 21

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