Chess Puzzle #8U6AY — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1477 · Intermediate · advantage, discovered attack, middlegame, short.

Position

White: king g1; queen a4; rooks a1/c1; bishops f6/g2; knight c3; pawns a2/b2/f2/g3/h2. Black: king e8; queen d7; rooks a8/h8; bishops c4/d6; pawns a7/d5/e6/f7/g7/h7. White is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qxa4 — queen d7→a4, captures queen. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Nxa4 — knight c3→a4, captures queen. Opponent replies gxf6 (pawn g7→f6, captures bishop).
  3. Best move: Rxc4 — rook c1→c4, captures bishop.

Tactical themes

advantage, discovered attack, middlegame, short. The key move Nxa4 wins material.

Position data

FEN: r3k2r/p2q1ppp/3bpB2/3p4/Q1b5/2N3P1/PP3PBP/R1R3K1 b kq - 0 17

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