Chess Puzzle #hqFkV — Advanced, White to move, opening

Rating 1853 · Advanced · advantage, fork, long, middlegame.

Position

White: king e1; queen d1; rooks a1/h1; bishops f1/h6; knights c3/f3; pawns a3/c4/e5/f2/g2/h2. Black: king e8; queen d8; rooks a8/h8; bishops a5/c8; knight b4; pawns a7/b7/d4/e6/f7/g7/h7. White is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: gxh6 — pawn g7→h6, captures bishop. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: axb4 — pawn a3→b4, captures knight. Opponent replies Bxb4 (bishop a5→b4, captures pawn).
  3. Best move: Qa4+ — queen d1→a4, gives check. Opponent replies Bd7 (bishop c8→d7).
  4. Best move: Qxb4 — queen a4→b4, captures bishop.

Tactical themes

advantage, fork, long, middlegame. The key move axb4 wins material.

Position data

FEN: r1bqk2r/pp3ppp/4p2B/b3P3/1nPp4/P1N2N2/5PPP/R2QKB1R b KQkq - 0 11

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