Chess Puzzle #WoEEZ — Expert, White to move, middlegame

Position

White: king f2; queen e2; rook d1; bishop c2; pawns a2/c4/e5/f4/g2/h2. Black: king e8; queen a5; rook h8; knight c5; pawns a7/b7/e6/f7/g7/h7. Material is balanced. White to move.

Solution (4 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Qxa2 — queen a5→a2, captures pawn. Now White to move.
2. Best move: Qd2 — queen e2→d2. Opponent replies f5 (pawn f7→f5).
3. Best move: exf6 — pawn e5→f6, captures pawn. Opponent replies Ne4+ (knight c5→e4, gives check).
4. Best move: Bxe4 — bishop c2→e4, captures knight. Opponent replies Qxd2+ (queen a2→d2, captures queen, gives check).
5. Best move: Rxd2 — rook d1→d2, captures queen.

Tactical themes

advantage, en passant, endgame, quiet move, very long. The key move is Qd2.

Position data

FEN: 4k2r/pp3ppp/4p3/q1n1P3/2P2P2/8/P1B1QKPP/3R4 b k - 0 21

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