Chess Puzzle #95iwu — Intermediate, White to move, opening

Rating 1486 · Intermediate · equality, fork, opening, short.

Position

White: king g1; queen d1; rooks a1/f1; bishop c1; knights b1/d4; pawns a2/b2/c2/e5/f2/g2/h2. Black: king f7; queen d8; rooks a8/h8; bishops c8/e7; knights c6/d5; pawns a7/b7/c7/d7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Nxe5 — knight c6→e5, captures pawn. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qh5+ — queen d1→h5, gives check. Opponent replies g6 (pawn g7→g6).
  3. Best move: Qxe5 — queen h5→e5, captures knight.

Tactical themes

equality, fork, opening, short. The key move is Qh5+.

Position data

FEN: r1bq3r/ppppbkpp/2n5/3nP3/3N4/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQ1RK1 b - - 0 8

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