Chess Puzzle #X6FCH — Expert, White to move, middlegame

Rating 2253 · Expert · endgame, equality, short.

Position

White: king h1; queen a4; rook f1; knight f3; pawns b5/e5/f4/g2/h2. Black: king g8; queen e3; rook f8; knight h3; pawns a5/b7/f5/f7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 1 point of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Nxf4 — knight h3→f4, captures pawn. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Re1 — rook f1→e1. Opponent replies Qc5 (queen e3→c5).
  3. Best move: Qxf4 — queen a4→f4, captures knight.

Tactical themes

endgame, equality, short. The key move is Re1.

Position data

FEN: 5rk1/1p3ppp/8/pP2Pp2/Q4P2/4qN1n/6PP/5R1K b - - 4 27

Solve this puzzle interactively on Brilliant Knight — free tactics training powered by Stockfish 18, no signup required.

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