Chess Puzzle #bm9Ch — Expert, White to move, middlegame

Position

White: king g1; queen a1; rook d1; bishop e3; knight d5; pawns a2/b3/c4/e4/f2/g2/h2. Black: king g8; queen e7; rooks d8/f8; knight g4; pawns a7/b7/c5/d6/f6/g5/h7. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Qxe4 — queen e7→e4, captures pawn. Now White to move.
2. Best move: f3 — pawn f2→f3. Opponent replies Qxe3+ (queen e4→e3, captures bishop, gives check).
3. Best move: Nxe3 — knight d5→e3, captures queen.

Tactical themes

equality, fork, middlegame, short. The key move is f3.

Position data

FEN: 3r1rk1/pp2q2p/3p1p2/2pN2p1/2P1P1n1/1P2B3/P4PPP/Q2R2K1 b - - 3 25

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