Chess Puzzle #Fwzel — Intermediate, White to move, opening

Rating 1550 · Intermediate · advantage, fork, long, middlegame.

Position

White: king g1; queen e3; rooks a1/f1; bishops b3/c3; knights e5/f5; pawns a2/b2/c2/d5/f2/g2/h3. Black: king e8; queen d8; rooks a8/h8; bishops b7/f8; knights c5/g6; pawns a6/b5/c7/d6/f7/g5/h5. Material is balanced. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Nxe5 — knight g6→e5, captures knight. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Bxe5 — bishop c3→e5, captures knight. Opponent replies dxe5 (pawn d6→e5, captures bishop).
  3. Best move: Qxe5+ — queen e3→e5, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Kd7 (king e8→d7).
  4. Best move: Qxh8 — queen e5→h8, captures rook.

Tactical themes

advantage, fork, long, middlegame. The key move Qxe5+ captures with check, forcing a response.

Position data

FEN: r2qkb1r/1bp2p2/p2p2n1/1pnPNNpp/8/1BB1Q2P/PPP2PP1/R4RK1 b kq - 0 19

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