Chess Puzzle #VITG1 — Advanced, White to move, opening

Rating 1930 · Advanced · advantage, opening, short.

Position

White: king g1; queen e2; rooks c1/d1; bishops b1/d4; knights c3/f3; pawns b2/e5/f2/g2/h3. Black: king g8; queen b8; rooks c8/f8; bishops d7/d8; knights a5/e8; pawns a6/b5/d6/e6/f7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Nb3 — knight a5→b3. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qc2 — queen e2→c2. Opponent replies g6 (pawn g7→g6).
  3. Best move: Qxb3 — queen c2→b3, captures knight.

Tactical themes

advantage, opening, short. The key move is Qc2.

Position data

FEN: 1qrbnrk1/3b1ppp/p2pp3/np2P3/3B4/2N2N1P/1P2QPP1/1BRR2K1 b - - 2 19

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