Chess Puzzle #A1oLi — Advanced, White to move, opening

Rating 1874 · Advanced · equality, intermezzo, middlegame, short.

Position

White: king g1; queen d1; rooks c1/e1; bishops b2/e2; knights d2/d4; pawns a3/b3/e3/f2/g2/h2. Black: king g8; queen e7; rooks a8/e8; bishops b7/c5; knights c6/g4; pawns a5/b6/d5/f7/g7/h7. Material is balanced. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Nxe3 — knight g4→e3, captures pawn. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Nxc6 — knight d4→c6, captures knight. Opponent replies Bxc6 (bishop b7→c6, captures knight).
  3. Best move: fxe3 — pawn f2→e3, captures knight.

Tactical themes

equality, intermezzo, middlegame, short. The key move Nxc6 wins material.

Position data

FEN: r3r1k1/1b2qppp/1pn5/p1bp4/3N2n1/PP2P3/1B1NBPPP/2RQR1K1 b - - 5 15

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