Chess Puzzle #fH25W — Advanced, Black to move, middlegame

Rating 1976 · Advanced · attraction, crushing, fork, long, middlegame, pin.

Position

White: king g1; queen d1; rook c1; bishop c7; knight f3; pawns a3/d6/f2/g2/h3. Black: king f7; queen b2; rooks a8/e7; bishop d7; knight f4; pawns a7/b7/f5/f6/h7. Black is ahead by 5 points of material. Black to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: dxe7 — pawn d6→e7, captures rook. Now Black to move.
  2. Best move: Qxc1 — queen b2→c1, captures rook. Opponent replies Qxc1 (queen d1→c1, captures queen).
  3. Best move: Ne2+ — knight f4→e2, gives check. Opponent replies Kf1 (king g1→f1).
  4. Best move: Nxc1 — knight e2→c1, captures queen.

Tactical themes

attraction, crushing, fork, long, middlegame, pin, sacrifice. The key move Qxc1 wins material.

Position data

FEN: r7/ppBbrk1p/3P1p2/5p2/5n2/P4N1P/1q3PP1/2RQ2K1 w - - 0 26

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