Chess Puzzle #A5XeW — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1745 · Advanced · crushing, deflection, endgame, short, skewer.

Position

White: king f1; queen h3; knight d4; pawns a3/b4/c4/f2. Black: king f6; queen g5; bishop b7; pawns a7/b6/e4/f4. Material is balanced. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qe5 — queen g5→e5. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qh8+ — queen h3→h8, gives check. Opponent replies Kg6 (king f6→g6).
  3. Best move: Qxe5 — queen h8→e5, captures queen.

Tactical themes

crushing, deflection, endgame, short, skewer. The key move is Qh8+.

Position data

FEN: 8/pb6/1p3k2/6q1/1PPNpp2/P6Q/5P2/5K2 b - - 3 40

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