Chess Puzzle #71Q1H — Intermediate, White to move, opening

Rating 1540 · Intermediate · advantage, opening, short.

Position

White: king e1; queen d1; rooks a1/h1; bishops e3/f1; knights c3/g3; pawns a2/b2/c2/f2/g2/h2. Black: king e8; queen d8; rooks a8/h8; bishops f5/f8; knights d4/f6; pawns a7/b7/c7/e4/e7/f7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Bg4 — bishop f5→g4. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qxd4 — queen d1→d4, captures knight. Opponent replies Qxd4 (queen d8→d4, captures queen).
  3. Best move: Bxd4 — bishop e3→d4, captures queen.

Tactical themes

advantage, opening, short. The key move Qxd4 wins material.

Position data

FEN: r2qkb1r/ppp1pppp/5n2/5b2/3np3/2N1B1N1/PPP2PPP/R2QKB1R b KQkq - 1 7

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