Chess Puzzle #9GpQ3 — Intermediate, Black to move, opening

Rating 1408 · Intermediate · equality, fork, opening, short.

Position

White: king e1; queen b3; rooks a1/h1; bishops a6/f4; knights b1/g1; pawns a4/b2/e3/f2/g2/h2. Black: king e8; queen d8; rooks a8/h8; bishops e6/f8; knight f6; pawns a7/c6/d4/d5/e7/f7/g7/h7. White is ahead by 1 point of material. Black to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: exd4 — pawn e3→d4, captures pawn. Now Black to move.
  2. Best move: Qa5+ — queen d8→a5, gives check. Opponent replies Nc3 (knight b1→c3).
  3. Best move: Qxa6 — queen a5→a6, captures bishop.

Tactical themes

equality, fork, opening, short. The key move is Qa5+.

Position data

FEN: r2qkb1r/p3pppp/B1p1bn2/3p4/P2p1B2/1Q2P3/1P3PPP/RN2K1NR w KQkq - 0 9

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