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

Rating 1851 · Advanced · advantage, fork, long, middlegame, sacrifice.

Position

White: king g1; queen h6; rook e1; knights c3/d4; pawns a3/b2/d5/e3/f2/g2/h2. Black: king g8; queen d8; rooks c8/e8; bishop d7; pawns a6/b7/c7/d6/e7/f7/h7. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: e5 — pawn e7→e5. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Ne4 — knight c3→e4. Opponent replies exd4 (pawn e5→d4, captures knight).
  3. Best move: Nf6+ — knight e4→f6, gives check. Opponent replies Qxf6 (queen d8→f6, captures knight).
  4. Best move: Qxf6 — queen h6→f6, captures queen.

Tactical themes

advantage, fork, long, middlegame, sacrifice. The key move is Ne4.

Position data

FEN: 2rqr1k1/1ppbpp1p/p2p3Q/3P4/3N4/P1N1P3/1P3PPP/4R1K1 b - - 0 20

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