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

Position

White: king d2; queen a4; rook h1; bishop f4; knights b5/f3; pawns a2/b2/c4/d5/f2/g2/h2. Black: king e8; queen d7; rooks a8/h8; bishop f8; knights b4/c2; pawns a7/b7/c7/e6/f7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 5 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Rc8 — rook a8→c8. Now White to move.
2. Best move: Ne5 — knight f3→e5. Opponent replies c6 (pawn c7→c6).
3. Best move: Nxd7 — knight e5→d7, captures queen.

Tactical themes

crushing, middlegame, short. The key move is Ne5.

Position data

FEN: r3kb1r/pppq1ppp/4p3/1N1P4/QnP2B2/5N2/PPnK1PPP/7R b kq - 5 14

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