Chess Puzzle #IyT1s — Advanced, White to move, opening

Rating 1696 · Advanced · advantage, long, middlegame, sacrifice.

Position

White: king g1; queen d3; rooks a1/f1; bishop g5; knights c3/e5; pawns a3/b4/c2/d4/f2/g2/h2. Black: king g8; queen b6; rooks a8/f8; bishop e7; knights c6/f6; pawns a7/b7/d5/e6/f7/g7/h7. Material is balanced. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qxd4 — queen b6→d4, captures pawn. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Nxc6 — knight e5→c6, captures knight. Opponent replies Qxd3 (queen d4→d3, captures queen).
  3. Best move: Nxe7+ — knight c6→e7, captures bishop, gives check. Opponent replies Kh8 (king g8→h8).
  4. Best move: cxd3 — pawn c2→d3, captures queen.

Tactical themes

advantage, long, middlegame, sacrifice. The key move Nxe7+ captures with check, forcing a response.

Position data

FEN: r4rk1/pp2bppp/1qn1pn2/3pN1B1/1P1P4/P1NQ4/2P2PPP/R4RK1 b - - 2 13

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