Chess Puzzle #9nQb4 — Intermediate, White to move, opening

Rating 1490 · Intermediate · equality, middlegame, short, trapped piece.

Position

White: king e1; queen d2; rooks a1/h1; bishop a4; knight e2; pawns a3/b4/c2/d3/e4/f2/g2/h2. Black: king e8; queen a5; rooks a8/h8; bishop c8; knights a6/f6; pawns a7/b7/c6/d6/e5/f7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 3 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qxa4 — queen a5→a4, captures bishop. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Nc3 — knight e2→c3. Opponent replies Nc5 (knight a6→c5).
  3. Best move: Nxa4 — knight c3→a4, captures queen.

Tactical themes

equality, middlegame, short, trapped piece. The key move is Nc3.

Position data

FEN: r1b1k2r/pp3ppp/n1pp1n2/q3p3/BP2P3/P2P4/2PQNPPP/R3K2R b KQkq - 0 10

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