Chess Puzzle #IaYOM — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1735 · Advanced · advanced pawn, endgame, equality, promotion, short.

Position

White: king h2; queen c6; knight g3; pawns a3/a6/d5/e4/f3/g2/h3. Black: king g8; queen b3; rook b8; knight e8; pawns a4/d6/e5/f7/g6/h7. Black is ahead by 4 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qb5 — queen b3→b5. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: a7 — pawn a6→a7. Opponent replies Qxc6 (queen b5→c6, captures queen).
  3. Best move: axb8=Q — pawn a7→b8, captures rook, promotes to queen.

Tactical themes

advanced pawn, endgame, equality, promotion, short. The key move is a7.

Position data

FEN: 1r2n1k1/5p1p/P1Qp2p1/3Pp3/p3P3/Pq3PNP/6PK/8 b - - 0 29

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