Chess Puzzle #BaT92 — Advanced, Black to move, middlegame

Position

White: king e1; queen b3; rooks a1/h3; bishops c1/f1; pawns a2/b2/c4/d5/f2/g2/h4. Black: king g8; queen d8; rooks a8/f6; bishop d6; knight d4; pawns a7/b6/f5/g7/h6. White is ahead by 2 points of material. Black to move.

Solution (3 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Qc3 — queen b3→c3. Now Black to move.
2. Best move: Bb4 — bishop d6→b4. Opponent replies Qxb4 (queen c3→b4, captures bishop).
3. Best move: Nc2+ — knight d4→c2, gives check. Opponent replies Kd1 (king e1→d1).
4. Best move: Nxb4 — knight c2→b4, captures queen.

Why this works

Black sacrifices the bishop on b4 to decoy White's queen away from its defender role. After 1...Bb4 2.Qxb4 (forced, as the queen is attacked), Black plays 2...Nc2+, a knight fork that checks the king on e1 and attacks the queen on b4 simultaneously. The king must move to d1—no piece can block a knight check—leaving the queen undefended. Black then captures with 3...Nxb4, winning the queen for a bishop and knight, a material gain of roughly two points. The sacrifice works because the queen on b4, once it captures the bishop, loses contact with escape squares; the knight on d4 controls both c2 and the critical checking square, while the white king's forced march to d1 isolates the queen from any defender.

What to practice

Recognize when a piece can be lured into capturing a sacrificed piece, only to be forked by a knight that gains tempo through check. The setup here is: opponent's piece is attacked and accepts the bait; the sacrificing side then delivers a knight check that forks the now-undefended major piece. This pattern—sacrifice + knight fork with check—converts a tempo-gaining sacrifice into a material-winning combination because the check forces the king to move before the opponent can defend the forked piece.

Tactical themes

advantage, attraction, fork, long, middlegame, pin, sacrifice. The key move is Bb4.

Position data

FEN: r2q2k1/p5p1/1p1b1r1p/3P1p2/2Pn3P/1Q5R/PP3PP1/R1B1KB2 w Q - 1 17

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