Chess Puzzle #HgmfT — Intermediate, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1421 · Intermediate · advantage, fork, long, middlegame.

Position

White: king g1; queen h6; rook d1; bishop g3; knight h4; pawns a2/b3/e4/f2/g2/h2. Black: king g8; queen e7; rook c6; knights b7/f6; pawns a7/b6/d6/e5/f7/g6. Material is balanced. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Nxe4 — knight f6→e4, captures pawn. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Nxg6 — knight h4→g6, captures pawn. Opponent replies fxg6 (pawn f7→g6, captures knight).
  3. Best move: Qxg6+ — queen h6→g6, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Kf8 (king g8→f8).
  4. Best move: Qxe4 — queen g6→e4, captures knight.

Tactical themes

advantage, fork, long, middlegame. The key move Qxg6+ captures with check, forcing a response.

Position data

FEN: 6k1/pn2qp2/1prp1npQ/4p3/4P2N/1P4B1/P4PPP/3R2K1 b - - 0 22

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