Winning blow: pawn to g3
c9-00149Opens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
The tactical motive
Chess960 twist: use the unusual starting setup of the pieces.
Winning tactic: there is a move that gains a decisive advantage — find it.
Difficulty 780 ShuffleRating — for beginners taking their first steps in Chess960 tactics.
White to move — find the best continuation
How to recognize this tactic
In Chess960 the pieces start on unfamiliar squares, so tactics appear earlier and from unusual angles. Do not trust classical patterns — read the actual lines of the bishops, the rooks and the queen from where they really stand in this position.
This position hides a concrete tactic that wins material or mates. Start with the most forcing candidate moves — checks, captures and threats — and calculate each to a clear end before choosing; the winning line is usually the one the opponent cannot meet.
General method: before you move, list the forcing candidates — every check, every capture, every direct threat — and calculate those first. The solution to a tactic is almost always among them.
Position on the board
White: king e1, queen c1, rook b1 h1, bishop d1 a3, pawn a2 e2 f2 f3 d4 h4.
Black: king e8, queen h5, rook g3 g8, bishop d8, knight e6, pawn c4 a7 d7 e7 f7 h7.
12 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 13.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 31 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on e1, the black king on e8.
It is White to move on move 13, with 36 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: c.
White hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
13. fxg3 Qa5+ 14. Kf2 Bc7 15. Rg1
Why it works
- Great move! pawn to g3 keeps the pressure (+3.5).
- king to f2 develops smoothly.
- A natural move: rook to g1.
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Rxg3, then Qxc4 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 13. fxg3 — pawn to g3 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Winning blow
Find the strike that wins material by force.
A winning blow is a forced material gain that does not fit a single textbook motif. The general tactical recipe applies: spot loose pieces, an awkwardly placed king, overloaded lines. Go through the forcing moves in order of violence — checks, captures, threats — because most combinations start with one of them. Do not judge by feel: calculate the concrete line until the outcome is beyond doubt.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #689.
SP-689 · ThroneGuard — King home on d or e, knights kept off the a- and h-files — the family of the standard starting array.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on b1 and h1, the queen on c1.
Castling ends where it always does: king to g1 and rook to f1 on the short side, king to c1 and rook to d1 on the long one.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, g2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 459.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Morozov Balance Index: 98 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +5 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #689Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 001 · SP-689
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