Chess Puzzle #L3VDl — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1732 · Advanced · advantage, endgame, short.

Position

White: king a1; queen f4; rook e1; pawns a3/b2/d4/e6/f3/g5. Black: king g6; queen c4; rook c8; bishop f5; pawns a7/b7/d5/e7/h4. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: h3 — pawn h4→h3. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qh4 — queen f4→h4. Opponent replies Qc1+ (queen c4→c1, gives check).
  3. Best move: Rxc1 — rook e1→c1, captures queen.

Tactical themes

advantage, endgame, short. The key move is Qh4.

Position data

FEN: 2r5/pp2p3/4P1k1/3p1bP1/2qP1Q1p/P4P2/1P6/K3R3 b - - 1 35

Solve this puzzle interactively on Brilliant Knight — free tactics training powered by Stockfish 18, no signup required.

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