Winning blow: pawn to e4 (d3·8)
c9-06194naming 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 1060 ShuffleRating — club-player level.
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 d1, queen f1, rook b1 e1, bishop a1 f3, knight c1 d4, pawn a2 h2 d3 g3 b4 c4 f4.
Black: king g8, queen e7, rook b8 f8, bishop g7 a8, knight d6 f6, pawn e4 e6 g6 a7 b7 c7 d7 h7.
15 white and 16 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 10.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 1 points of material (38 against 39; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on d1, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 10, with 40 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 8. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in. Half-open for White: e.
The White king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
10. dxe4 Nfxe4 11. Bxe4 Nxe4 12. Rxe4
Why it works
- Great move! pawn to e4 keeps the pressure (+1.1).
- Spot on — bishop to e4 (+1.6).
- Strong! rook to e4 is the sharp choice (+1.6).
- You win a piece — the knight.
- If instead Nfxe4, then Bxe4 and you win the knight.
Move by move
- 10. dxe4 — pawn to e4 (capture)
- Nfxe4 — knight to e4 (capture)
- 11. Bxe4 — bishop to e4 (capture)
- Nxe4 — knight to e4 (capture)
- 12. Rxe4 — rook to e4 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Winning exchange
A forced series of captures on one square ends in your favour.
A winning exchange is a forced series of captures on one square that leaves you ahead in material. It is pure arithmetic: count the attackers and defenders of the square and note the value of every piece in the queue. Capture in the right order — cheap pieces first, expensive ones later — or a winning trade turns into a losing one. The classic error is stopping the count halfway and missing the opponent's final recapture.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #643.
SP-643 · ThroneGuard — A central king (d or e) and two knights tucked onto inner files: the family that holds the standard array, SP-518.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on b1 and e1, the queen on f1.
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.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 211.
The engine's main line opens with g4.
Morozov Balance Index: 89 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +14 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #643Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 006 · SP-643
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