Chess Puzzle #E5ilL — Advanced, Black to move, opening

Rating 1925 · Advanced · advantage, long, opening.

Position

White: king g1; queen c2; rooks a1/f1; bishops c1/d3; knight e5; pawns a2/b2/d4/e3/f2/g2/h2. Black: king e8; queen d8; rooks a8/h8; bishops b7/e7; knight f6; pawns a6/b5/c6/e6/f7/g7/h7. Material is balanced. Black to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Nxc6 — knight e5→c6, captures pawn. Now Black to move.
  2. Best move: Qd5 — queen d8→d5. Opponent replies e4 (pawn e3→e4).
  3. Best move: Qxc6 — queen d5→c6, captures knight. Opponent replies Qxc6+ (queen c2→c6, captures queen, gives check).
  4. Best move: Bxc6 — bishop b7→c6, captures queen.

Tactical themes

advantage, long, opening. The key move is Qd5.

Position data

FEN: r2qk2r/1b2bppp/p1p1pn2/1p2N3/3P4/3BP3/PPQ2PPP/R1B2RK1 w kq - 1 12

Solve this puzzle interactively on Brilliant Knight — free tactics training powered by Stockfish 18, no signup required.

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