Chess Puzzle #COcny — Master, White to move, middlegame

Position

White: king h1; queen g3; bishops g1/g6; knight d5; pawns a2/c4/d3/e4/f5/h3. Black: king h8; queen c2; rook b2; bishop f8; knight h7; pawns a5/c5/d6/f6/g7. Black is ahead by 1 point of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Qe2 — queen c2→e2. Now White to move.
2. Best move: Nf4 — knight d5→f4. Opponent replies Qf1 (queen e2→f1).
3. Best move: Bf7 — bishop g6→f7. Opponent replies Qxf4 (queen f1→f4, captures knight).
4. Best move: Qxf4 — queen g3→f4, captures queen.

Tactical themes

crushing, long, middlegame, quiet move. The key move is Nf4.

Position data

FEN: 5b1k/6pn/3p1pB1/p1pN1P2/2P1P3/3P2QP/Prq5/6BK b - - 2 38

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