Chess Puzzle #z2XD9 — Expert, White to move, middlegame

Rating 2329 · Expert · advantage, middlegame, short.

Position

White: king c1; queen h6; rooks e5/h1; knight c3; pawns a2/b2/c2/f3/g4. Black: king g8; queen c5; rooks a8/f8; bishop c4; knight f6; pawns a7/b7/d5/f7/g6/h7. Black is ahead by 4 points of material. White to move.

Solution (2 moves)

  1. Opponent setup: Rfe8 — rook f8→e8. Now White to move.
  2. Best move: Ne4 — knight c3→e4. Opponent replies dxe4 (pawn d5→e4, captures knight).
  3. Best move: Rxc5 — rook e5→c5, captures queen.

Tactical themes

advantage, middlegame, short. The key move is Ne4.

Position data

FEN: r4rk1/pp3p1p/5npQ/2qpR3/2b3P1/2N2P2/PPP5/2K4R b - - 1 21

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