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

Rating 1725 · Advanced · crushing, endgame, skewer, very long.

Position

White: king b1; queen e7; rook h1; pawns a2/b2/c2/g2. Black: king g8; queen g3; rook d5; bishop e6; pawns a7/b7/f7. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (4 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qxg2 — queen g3→g2, captures pawn. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qe8+ — queen e7→e8, gives check. Opponent replies Kg7 (king g8→g7).
  3. Best move: Qh8+ — queen e8→h8, gives check. Opponent replies Kg6 (king g7→g6).
  4. Best move: Qg8+ — queen h8→g8, gives check. Opponent replies Kf6 (king g6→f6).
  5. Best move: Qxg2 — queen g8→g2, captures queen.

Tactical themes

crushing, endgame, skewer, very long. The key move is Qe8+.

Position data

FEN: 6k1/pp2Qp2/4b3/3r4/8/6q1/PPP3P1/1K5R b - - 1 34

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