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

Rating 1938 · Advanced · advantage, middlegame, short, trapped piece.

Position

White: king c1; queen d2; rooks g1/g4; knight e2; pawns a2/b2/c2/f3/f4/h2. Black: king g8; queen f5; rooks e7/f7; knight e6; pawns a7/b7/c6/d5/g7/h7. Material is balanced. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Rf6 — rook f7→f6. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Ng3 — knight e2→g3. Opponent replies Qxf4 (queen f5→f4, captures pawn).
  3. Best move: Rxf4 — rook g4→f4, captures queen.

Tactical themes

advantage, middlegame, short, trapped piece. The key move is Ng3.

Position data

FEN: 6k1/pp2rrpp/2p1n3/3p1q2/5PR1/5P2/PPPQN2P/2K3R1 b - - 5 23

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