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

Position

White: king d1; queen e3; rook a1; bishops c1/g2; knight f4; pawns a5/d3/g3/h3. Black: king e8; queen c6; rooks a8/h8; bishop b7; pawns a7/c3/c5/e6/f7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Qc7 — queen c6→c7. Now White to move.
2. Best move: Nxe6 — knight f4→e6, captures pawn. Opponent replies fxe6 (pawn f7→e6, captures knight).
3. Best move: Qxe6+ — queen e3→e6, captures pawn, gives check. Opponent replies Qe7 (queen c7→e7).
4. Best move: Qxe7+ — queen e6→e7, captures queen, gives check.

Tactical themes

advantage, long, middlegame. The key move Qxe6+ captures with check, forcing a response.

Position data

FEN: r3k2r/pb3ppp/2q1p3/P1p5/5N2/2pPQ1PP/6B1/R1BK4 b kq - 1 22

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