Winning blow: queen to f8 (f5·2)
c9-08941naming 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 2380 ShuffleRating — expert level — few solve it at first try.
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 f5, rook d1, bishop e6, pawn f2 e3 h3 c6 d7.
Black: king e7, queen c7, rook f8, pawn h4 e5 g7.
9 white and 6 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 37.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 5 points of material (22 against 17; 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 e7.
It is White to move on move 37, with 41 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, b — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: g.
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
37. Qxf8+ Kxf8 38. d8=Q+ Qxd8 39. Rxd8+
Why it works
- Best move. queen to f8 is exactly what the engine plays (#8).
- Spot on — pawn to d8 (#7).
- Strong! rook to d8 is the sharp choice (#6).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kxf8, then d8=Q+ and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 37. Qxf8+ — queen to f8 (capture) with check
- Kxf8 — king to f8 (capture)
- 38. d8=Q+ — pawn to d8 with check
- Qxd8 — queen to d8 (capture)
- 39. Rxd8+ — rook to d8 (capture) with check
Types in this puzzle
Decoy
A sacrifice lures the king or a piece onto a fatal square.
A decoy is the mirror image of deflection: you sacrifice to drag the king or a piece onto a fatal square. The classic is a queen or rook sac whose capture pulls the king into a knight fork, a discovered check or mate. Find the square where the target will be hit, then find the offer it cannot refuse. Calculate to the very end — a decoy only works when the follow-up is forced.
Simplification
Trade the heavy pieces and steer into a won endgame.
Simplification is how you convert an advantage: by trading queens and rooks you extinguish the counterplay and steer the game into a won endgame. The rule is simple — the side with extra material trades pieces but keeps pawns. Look for exchanges once the material is already won and your opponent is still rattling threats. The mistake is avoiding the queen trade and letting him muddy the water forever.
Remove the defender
Capture the guard first — then take what it protected.
Removing the defender is the straightforward plan: capture the guard first, then take what it guarded. Unlike deflection, the defender is not lured away — it is traded off or destroyed on the spot. Stare at the target you crave and ask who defends it, and whether that defender can be profitably eaten. Count the whole capture sequence, not just the first move — the trade must pay off at the end.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #514.
SP-514 · ThroneGuard — A centre-file king with no knight on the edge; a position and its mirror twin always share this family.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on b1 and h1, the queen on d1.
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 pawn on f2 is defended by the king alone — the classic soft spot of the standard setup.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 535.
The engine's main line opens with c4.
Morozov Balance Index: 96 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +8 centipawns for White (depth 49, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #514Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 015 · SP-514
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