Chess Puzzle #CNU2s — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1540 · Intermediate · advantage, endgame, fork, short.

Position

White: king g1; rook e1; bishop f3; knights d5/e5; pawns a2/b2/g3/h2. Black: king g7; queen c7; rook d2; pawns a7/b6/c5/f7/g6/h7. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qd6 — queen c7→d6. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Nc4 — knight e5→c4. Opponent replies Qxd5 (queen d6→d5, captures knight).
  3. Best move: Bxd5 — bishop f3→d5, captures queen.

Tactical themes

advantage, endgame, fork, short. The key move is Nc4.

Position data

FEN: 8/p1q2pkp/1p4p1/2pNN3/8/5BP1/PP1r3P/4R1K1 b - - 3 32

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