Chess Puzzle #EQRj5 — Advanced, Black to move, opening

Rating 1960 · Advanced · castling, equality, opening, short.

Position

White: king e1; queen d1; rooks a1/h1; bishops c1/f1; knights b1/e5; pawns a2/b2/c2/c6/d2/f2/g2/h2. Black: king e8; queen d8; rooks a8/h8; bishops c5/c8; knights b8/f6; pawns a7/b7/f7/g7/h7. White is ahead by 3 points of material. Black to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qe2 — queen d1→e2. Now Black to move.
  2. Best move: O-O — king e8→g8. Opponent replies cxb7 (pawn c6→b7, captures pawn).
  3. Best move: Bxb7 — bishop c8→b7, captures pawn.

Tactical themes

castling, equality, opening, short. The key move is O-O.

Position data

FEN: rnbqk2r/pp3ppp/2P2n2/2b1N3/8/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 1 6

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