Chess Puzzle #rCSUR — Advanced, White to move, middlegame

Rating 1980 · Advanced · advantage, fork, middlegame, short.

Position

White: king g1; queen a4; rooks c1/e1; bishop e3; knights b3/e2; pawns a2/b2/f2/g2/h2. Black: king f8; queen b7; rooks a6/h8; bishop d6; knights e5/f6; pawns a5/c6/d5/f7/g6/h6. Black is ahead by 1 point of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Nd3 — knight e5→d3. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Qd4 — queen a4→d4. Opponent replies c5 (pawn c6→c5).
  3. Best move: Qxd3 — queen d4→d3, captures knight.

Tactical themes

advantage, fork, middlegame, short. The key move is Qd4.

Position data

FEN: 5k1r/1q3p2/r1pb1npp/p2pn3/Q7/1N2B3/PP2NPPP/2R1R1K1 b - - 7 22

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