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

Rating 1494 · Intermediate · advantage, opening, short, trapped piece.

Position

White: king e1; queen d1; rooks a1/h1; bishop d2; knights a3/f3; pawns a4/c2/e5/f2/g4/h4. Black: king e8; queen b2; rooks a8/h8; bishops c8/f8; knights c6/g7; pawns a7/b7/d4/d7/e7/f7/g6/h7. Black is ahead by 5 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: e6 — pawn e7→e6. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Nc4 — knight a3→c4. Opponent replies Qb4 (queen b2→b4).
  3. Best move: Bxb4 — bishop d2→b4, captures queen.

Tactical themes

advantage, opening, short, trapped piece. The key move is Nc4.

Position data

FEN: r1b1kb1r/pp1pppnp/2n3p1/4P3/P2p2PP/N4N2/1qPB1P2/R2QK2R b KQkq - 1 11

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