Chess Puzzle #Euz6c — Intermediate, Black to move, middlegame

Position

White: king h1; queen c2; rooks e1/e4; knight f3; pawns a2/b3/c3/d4/f2/g3/h2. Black: king g8; queen f5; rooks b8/e8; knight h3; pawns a7/c7/e6/f7/g7/h7. White is ahead by 1 point of material. Black to move.

Solution (3 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Qe2 — queen c2→e2. Now Black to move.
2. Best move: Qxe4 — queen f5→e4, captures rook. Opponent replies Qxe4 (queen e2→e4, captures queen).
3. Best move: Nxf2+ — knight h3→f2, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Kg2 (king h1→g2).
4. Best move: Nxe4 — knight f2→e4, captures queen.

Why this works

Black's knight on h3 is perfectly placed to create havoc on White's kingside after the queen exchange. The sequence 1...Qxe4 2.Qxe4 Nf2+ is a decoy sacrifice — the knight check forces the king to g2, then 3...Nxe4 wins the queen outright because the king's move removed the defender. The critical point: after 2.Qxe4, White's queen is the only piece defending the e4 square where it sits. By giving check with 2...Nf2+, Black forces the king away before White can move the queen to safety. The knight fork on f2 is not the final blow; it's the forcing move that enables the follow-up capture. White trades queen for queen, but the knight then captures the replacement queen because the king is no longer on h1 to defend e4.

What to practice

Recognize when a check gains time in a forcing sequence. Here, the intermediate check 2...Nf2+ isn't checking the queen (impossible) — it checks the king and forces it to abandon its post. The pattern is: exchange pieces on one square, then use a check to dislodge the king before recapturing the second piece on a defended square. This 'check as tempo gain' motif turns what looks like a trade into a material win.

Tactical themes

advantage, attraction, fork, long, middlegame, sacrifice. The key move Nxf2+ captures with check, forcing a response.

Position data

FEN: 1r2r1k1/p1p2ppp/4p3/5q2/3PR3/1PP2NPn/P1Q2P1P/4R2K w - - 3 26

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