Chess Puzzle #9gLGI — Advanced, Black to move, middlegame

Rating 1936 · Advanced · equality, fork, middlegame, short.

Position

White: king e1; queen d1; rooks a1/h1; knights d2/e5; pawns a3/c4/d3/e4/f2/g2/h2. Black: king e8; queen d8; rooks a8/h8; bishop e2; knights b8/g8; pawns a5/b5/c6/f7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. Black to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qxe2 — queen d1→e2, captures bishop. Now Black to move.
  2. Best move: Qd4 — queen d8→d4. Opponent replies O-O (king e1→g1).
  3. Best move: Qxe5 — queen d4→e5, captures knight.

Tactical themes

equality, fork, middlegame, short. The key move is Qd4.

Position data

FEN: rn1qk1nr/5ppp/2p5/pp2N3/2P1P3/P2P4/3NbPPP/R2QK2R w KQkq - 0 12

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