Chess Puzzle #W3jMV — Master, White to move, middlegame

Position

White: king g1; queen c3; bishop c1; knight d4; pawns b2/b3/d5/f2/g2/h3. Black: king g8; queen e7; rook c8; bishop b5; pawns a6/c7/d6/f6/f7/h7. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (4 moves)

1. Opponent setup: c5 — pawn c7→c5. Now White to move.
2. Best move: Nf5 — knight d4→f5. Opponent replies Qe5 (queen e7→e5).
3. Best move: Qxe5 — queen c3→e5, captures queen. Opponent replies fxe5 (pawn f6→e5, captures queen).
4. Best move: Ne7+ — knight f5→e7, gives check. Opponent replies Kf8 (king g8→f8).
5. Best move: Nxc8 — knight e7→c8, captures rook.

Tactical themes

crushing, endgame, fork, very long. The key move is Nf5.

Position data

FEN: 2r3k1/2p1qp1p/p2p1p2/1b1P4/3N4/1PQ4P/1P3PP1/2B3K1 b - - 2 23

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