Critical find on move 23

Played by AntoniBroker.

Rat Defense: Small Center Defense (C00) · Aug 2026 · 3+0 · 1478 vs 1512 · 1:01 on the clock

Critical find · Kept the advantage, checked with a deeper engine search.

The position

Black to play, move 23. The game so far: 1. e4 d6 2. d4 e6 3. Bd3 c6 4. Be3 d5 5. e5 Nd7 6. Nf3 c5 7. c3 cxd4 8. cxd4 Bb4+ 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. a3 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Qa5 12. Bd2 O-O 13. O-O Qc7 14. Re1 f6 15. exf6 Nxf6 16. Ne5 Nc6 17. Qf3 Nxe5 18. dxe5 Nd7 19. Bxh7+ Kxh7 20. Qh5+ Kg8 21. Re3 Qc5 22. Rae1 b6 23. Rg3.

White was threatening to win the rook.

The move

23…Qxf2+

White was threatening to win the rook. Every other move was clearly worse; 23…Qxf2+ kept the advantage.

In the game: 24. Kh1 Qf1+ 25. Rxf1 Rxf1#

Why it works

The strongest defense: 24. Kh1 Qxe1+ 25. Bxe1 Rf1# (engine line)