Chess Puzzle #8M93T — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1500 · Intermediate · advantage, endgame, long.

Position

White: king g1; queen d1; rook g3; knight d3; pawns a4/d4/e3/h7. Black: king h8; queen a2; rook c2; knight f6; pawns a7/d6/d7/e6/f7. Black is ahead by 1 point of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qb3 — queen a2→b3. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qf1 — queen d1→f1. Opponent replies Nxh7 (knight f6→h7, captures pawn).
  3. Best move: Ne1 — knight d3→e1. Opponent replies f5 (pawn f7→f5).
  4. Best move: Nxc2 — knight e1→c2, captures rook.

Tactical themes

advantage, endgame, long. The key move is Qf1.

Position data

FEN: 7k/p2p1p1P/3ppn2/8/P2P4/3NP1R1/q1r5/3Q2K1 b - - 2 38

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