Chess Puzzle #Eg65q — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1700 · Advanced · crushing, endgame, short.

Position

White: king h2; queen e5; rook d8; knight f5; pawns a3/e3/f2/g3/h3. Black: king h7; queen d7; rook c5; bishop d3; pawns a5/c3/d5/e4/g7/h6. Black is ahead by 1 point of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qc7 — queen d7→c7. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qe8 — queen e5→e8. Opponent replies Qxd8 (queen c7→d8, captures rook).
  3. Best move: Qxd8 — queen e8→d8, captures queen.

Tactical themes

crushing, endgame, short. The key move is Qe8.

Position data

FEN: 3R4/3q2pk/7p/p1rpQN2/4p3/P1pbP1PP/5P1K/8 b - - 3 41

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.