Chess Puzzle #76SjR — Expert, Black to move, middlegame

Position

White: king g1; queen b6; rook e1; knight a6; pawns f2/g3/h3. Black: king g8; queen c4; bishop f8; pawns c3/d4/f7/g6/h7. White is ahead by 3 points of material. Black to move.

Solution (3 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Re8 — rook e1→e8. Now Black to move.
2. Best move: c2 — pawn c3→c2. Opponent replies Kh2 (king g1→h2).
3. Best move: c1=Q — pawn c2→c1, promotes to queen. Opponent replies Qd6 (queen b6→d6).
4. Best move: Qh6 — queen c1→h6.

Tactical themes

advanced pawn, crushing, endgame, long, promotion. The key move is c2.

Position data

FEN: 5bk1/5p1p/NQ4p1/8/2qp4/2p3PP/5P2/4R1K1 w - - 0 34

Solve this puzzle interactively on Brilliant Knight — free tactics training powered by Stockfish 18, no signup required.