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

Rating 2218 · Expert · advantage, long, middlegame.

Position

White: king h1; queen d2; rooks d1/f1; bishops a3/g2; pawns a4/c3/e5/f4/g3/h2. Black: king e8; queen b6; rooks a8/h8; bishop b7; knight e3; pawns a6/b5/c4/c6/e6/f7/g7/h6. Black is ahead by 2 points of material. White to move.

Solution (3 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Nxd1 — knight e3→d1, captures rook. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qd6 — queen d2→d6. Opponent replies b4 (pawn b5→b4).
  3. Best move: Bxb4 — bishop a3→b4, captures pawn. Opponent replies c5 (pawn c6→c5).
  4. Best move: Qxb6 — queen d6→b6, captures queen.

Tactical themes

advantage, long, middlegame. The key move is Qd6.

Position data

FEN: r3k2r/1b3pp1/pqp1p2p/1p2P3/P1p2P2/B1P1n1P1/3Q2BP/3R1R1K b kq - 6 21

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