Chess Puzzle #EhNOc — Expert, White to move, middlegame

Rating 2294 · Expert · advanced pawn, endgame, equality, short.

Position

White: king h1; queen c4; rook f1; bishop a2; pawns b4/d6/g2/h2. Black: king g8; queen a4; rook f8; knight d4; pawns a6/b7/e5/f7/g6/h7. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qd7 — queen a4→d7. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qc7 — queen c4→c7. Opponent replies Qxc7 (queen d7→c7, captures queen).
  3. Best move: dxc7 — pawn d6→c7, captures queen.

Tactical themes

advanced pawn, endgame, equality, short. The key move is Qc7.

Position data

FEN: 5rk1/1p3p1p/p2P2p1/4p3/qPQn4/8/B5PP/5R1K b - - 0 27

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