Chess Puzzle #WxtT3 — Expert, White to move, middlegame

Position

White: king g1; queen e3; rooks e1/f4; bishop b5; pawns a4/c2/d5/e4/g2/h2. Black: king g7; queen b2; rooks a8/h6; bishop b7; knight f6; pawns b6/c7/d6/f7/g4/h5. Black is ahead by 3 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Qxc2 — queen b2→c2, captures pawn. Now White to move.
2. Best move: Rc1 — rook e1→c1. Opponent replies Qb2 (queen c2→b2).
3. Best move: Rxc7 — rook c1→c7, captures pawn. Opponent replies Rc8 (rook a8→c8).
4. Best move: Rxb7 — rook c7→b7, captures bishop.

Tactical themes

equality, long, middlegame, skewer. The key move is Rc1.

Position data

FEN: r7/1bp2pk1/1p1p1n1r/1B1P3p/P3PRp1/4Q3/1qP3PP/4R1K1 b - - 1 28

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