Chess Puzzle #M8Xui — Advanced, Black to move, opening

Rating 1859 · Advanced · advantage, deflection, discovered attack, opening, short.

Position

White: king e1; queen d2; rooks a1/h1; bishops e3/f1; knight c3; pawns a2/b2/c2/e4/g2/g4/h2. Black: king e8; queen b6; rooks a8/h8; bishops c8/g7; knight d4; pawns a7/b7/d7/e7/f7/g6/h7. Material is balanced. Black to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Ne2 — knight c3→e2. Now Black to move.
  2. Best move: Nxc2+ — knight d4→c2, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Qxc2 (queen d2→c2, captures knight).
  3. Best move: Qxe3 — queen b6→e3, captures bishop.

Tactical themes

advantage, deflection, discovered attack, opening, short. The key move Nxc2+ captures with check, forcing a response.

Position data

FEN: r1b1k2r/pp1pppbp/1q4p1/8/3nP1P1/2N1B3/PPPQ2PP/R3KB1R w KQkq - 0 10

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