Chess Puzzle #dmK2s — Expert, White to move, middlegame

Rating 2383 · Expert · advantage, middlegame, very long.

Position

White: king g1; queen g3; rooks d1/f1; bishop f7; knight c3; pawns a2/b2/f2/g2/h2. Black: king h8; queen d6; rook a8; bishops b6/c8; knights f4/f6; pawns a7/b7/d7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 1 point of material. White to move.

Solution (5 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Qe5 — queen d6→e5. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Rfe1 — rook f1→e1. Opponent replies Qf5 (queen e5→f5).
  3. Best move: Nd5 — knight c3→d5. Opponent replies N4xd5 (knight f4→d5, captures knight).
  4. Best move: Rxd5 — rook d1→d5, captures knight. Opponent replies Qxf2+ (queen f5→f2, captures pawn, gives check).
  5. Best move: Qxf2 — queen g3→f2, captures queen. Opponent replies Bxf2+ (bishop b6→f2, captures queen, gives check).
  6. Best move: Kxf2 — king g1→f2, captures bishop.

Tactical themes

advantage, middlegame, very long. The key move is Rfe1.

Position data

FEN: r1b4k/pp1p1Bpp/1b1q1n2/8/5n2/2N3Q1/PP3PPP/3R1RK1 b - - 1 23

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.