Winning blow: queen to h5 (h1)
c9-07704naming 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 1250 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 f1, queen h1, rook d1 h6, bishop c1 g6, knight b3 h7, pawn a2 b2 d2 e2 f2 c3.
Black: king g8, queen g7, rook d6 h8, bishop b8 c8, knight a8 e8, pawn d5 e5 c6 a7 b7.
14 white and 13 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 13.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (37 against 36; 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 g8.
It is White to move on move 13, with 41 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): g, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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
13. Qh5 Rxg6 14. Rxg6 Rxh7 15. Rxg7+
Why it works
- Great move! queen to h5 keeps the pressure (+2.9).
- Well found: rook to g6 (+3.1).
- Strong! rook to g7 is the sharp choice (+3.3).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Rxg6, then Rxg6 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 13. Qh5 — queen to h5
- Rxg6 — rook to g6 (capture)
- 14. Rxg6 — rook to g6 (capture)
- Rxh7 — rook to h7 (capture)
- 15. Rxg7+ — rook to g7 (capture) with check
Types in this puzzle
Royal fork
A fork with check: the king must move, and the second piece is lost.
A royal fork is a fork with check — one of the two targets is the king itself. The check must be answered first, so nobody is left to rescue the second piece. Look for squares where your piece gives check and simultaneously attacks an undefended queen or rook. It is the most reliable fork of all, because your opponent literally has no choice.
Development punish
Half the army still asleep — the attack breaks through.
Punishing lazy development: half of your opponent's army is asleep on its starting squares, which means you outnumber him where the fight is. Count not the pieces on the board but the pieces in play — if five or more of his pieces have never moved, look for a forcing attack. The sign is a development lead plus open lines toward his king. Strike immediately: give him two quiet moves and the advantage evaporates.
Win the pinned piece
The pinned piece cannot run — attack it again and win it.
A pinned piece cannot flee, which means you can win it outright by attacking it one more time. Count attackers against defenders: if you outnumber them, the piece is yours. The best extra attacker is a pawn, since it costs less than anything it might capture. Do not rush the capture — build up the pressure first, then harvest.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #164.
SP-164 · BastionScout — The king starts one file off-centre, on c or f, and a knight begins in a corner.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on d1 and h1, the queen on g1.
The queenside rook already stands on d1, so castling long moves only the king, from f1 to c1.
The bishops stand on b1 and c1; their long diagonals reach h7 and h6 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
The pawn on e2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 798.
The engine's main line opens with c3.
Morozov Balance Index: 16 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +39 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #164Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 008 · SP-164
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