Winning blow: pawn to g4 (h3·2)
c9-04863naming tag (square·N)Opens 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 f1, queen b2, rook e1 h1, bishop h2, knight d1 d3, pawn a2 g2 b3 h3 e4 f4 c5.
Black: king f7, queen b7, rook g4 h8, bishop h7 b8, knight e7 d8, pawn h4 b5 c6 f6 a7 d7 g7.
14 white and 15 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 15.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 3 points of material (35 against 38; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on f1, the black king on f7.
It is White to move on move 15, with 35 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 7. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in. Half-open for White: d.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 4 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
15. hxg4 Ne6 16. N1f2 b4 17. f5
Why it works
- Great move! pawn to g4 keeps the pressure (+4.1).
- knight to f2 develops smoothly.
- A natural move: pawn to f5.
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Bxe4, then Rxe4 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 15. hxg4 — pawn to g4 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Hanging piece
A piece is left without protection — just take it.
A hanging piece is simply an unprotected piece you can take for free. It sounds primitive, yet most amateur games are decided exactly this way. Build the habit: before every move, sweep the board and note every undefended piece, yours and theirs. The classic mistake is hunting for a brilliant combination when all you need to do is bend down and pick up the gift.
Only move
Everything else loses — find the only move that holds.
An only move is a position where everything loses except one single continuation. You cannot play "by hand" here: run through fundamentally different defenses — run away, block, trade, counterattack — and discard the ones that fail. The hallmark of these puzzles is that the obvious moves lose quickly while the solution often looks strange. First understand exactly what the threat is — then the one saving move reveals itself.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #12.
SP-12 · BastionGuard — King off-centre on c or f with both knights on inner files.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on e1 and h1, the queen on a1.
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.
The bishops stand on b1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a7 once the c- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: d2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 956.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 28 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +33 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #12Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 002 · SP-12
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