Chess Puzzle #Xkg41 — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Position

White: king b1; queen c3; rooks d1/h1; bishop d4; knight d5; pawns b3/c2/e4/f5/g5/h3. Black: king e8; queen a5; rooks b5/h8; bishop f8; knights c6/e5; pawns a7/d6/f7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (4 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Nxd4 — knight c6→d4, captures bishop. Now White to move.
2. Best move: Qc8+ — queen c3→c8, gives check. Opponent replies Qd8 (queen a5→d8).
3. Best move: Nc7+ — knight d5→c7, gives check. Opponent replies Ke7 (king e8→e7).
4. Best move: f6+ — pawn f5→f6, gives check. Opponent replies gxf6 (pawn g7→f6, captures pawn).
5. Best move: gxf6+ — pawn g5→f6, captures pawn, gives check.

Tactical themes

crushing, fork, middlegame, pin, very long. The key move gxf6+ captures with check, forcing a response.

Position data

FEN: 4kb1r/p4ppp/2np4/qr1NnPP1/3BP3/1PQ4P/2P5/1K1R3R b k - 8 26

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