Winning blow: pawn to f8 (f7·4)
c9-09381naming 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 2060 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 g6, rook g3, knight e1, pawn a2 c2 e2 f2 h2 b3 f7.
Black: king c7, rook c5, pawn c3 b5 a7.
11 white and 5 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 28.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 16 points of material (24 against 8; 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 c7.
It is White to move on move 28, with 43 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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
28. f8=Q Rc6 29. Qgg7+ Kb6 30. Qfe7
Why it works
- Sensible development: pawn to f8.
- Spot on — queen to g7 (#3).
- A natural move: queen to e7.
- You win decisive material (+15.0).
- If instead Rc6, then Qge8 and you win the pawn.
Move by move
- 28. f8=Q — pawn to f8
Types in this puzzle
Promotion
The pawn reaches the last rank and becomes a queen — decisively.
Promotion turns a pawn on the last rank into a queen and rewrites the evaluation on the spot. In tactics the passer rarely walks in for free — usually a sacrifice clears its path. Count the tempi: how many moves does the pawn need, and can the defender stop it in time? And watch the promotion square itself — it must be out of enemy reach or won by force in your combination.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #99.
SP-99 · BastionGuard — King shifted to c or f, knights kept clear of the edges — 168 positions in all.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on d1 and g1, the queen on b1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
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 BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 851.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Morozov Balance Index: 80 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +17 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #99Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 015 · SP-99
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