Chess Puzzle #6q9e9 — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1883 · Advanced · en passant, equality, middlegame, short.

Position

White: king g1; queen e4; rooks a1/f1; knight f3; pawns a2/b2/c2/d4/e5/f2/g2/h2. Black: king g8; queen c7; rooks a8/f8; bishop e7; knight b8; pawns a6/c4/d7/e6/f7/g7/h6. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: d5 — pawn d7→d5. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: exd6 — pawn e5→d6, captures pawn. Opponent replies Qc6 (queen c7→c6).
  3. Best move: Qxc6 — queen e4→c6, captures queen.

Tactical themes

en passant, equality, middlegame, short. The key move exd6 wins material.

Position data

FEN: rn3rk1/2qpbpp1/p3p2p/4P3/2pPQ3/5N2/PPP2PPP/R4RK1 b - - 0 16

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