Chess Puzzle #oQou9 — Expert, White to move, middlegame

Position

White: king b1; queen a4; rook f1; knight d6; pawns a2/b3/e5/g2/h2. Black: king f8; queen b6; rooks a8/h8; knight d4; pawns a7/e6/f7/g7/h7. Black is ahead by 5 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

1. Opponent setup: Nf5 — knight d4→f5. Now White to move.
2. Best move: Qd7 — queen a4→d7. Opponent replies Nxd6 (knight f5→d6, captures knight).
3. Best move: exd6 — pawn e5→d6, captures knight. Opponent replies f6 (pawn f7→f6).
4. Best move: Qe7+ — queen d7→e7, gives check.

Tactical themes

equality, long, middlegame. The key move is Qd7.

Position data

FEN: r4k1r/p4ppp/1q1Np3/4P3/Q2n4/1P6/P5PP/1K3R2 b - - 1 21

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