Attack on the uncastled king: queen to f5 (f4·3)
c9-10754naming 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.
Uncastled king: the enemy king is stuck in the centre — punish it before it castles.
Winning tactic: there is a move that gains a decisive advantage — find it.
Difficulty 1930 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
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.
An uncastled king in the centre is a standing target. Look for ways to open the central files and diagonals against it with checks and threats before it can shelter — every tempo the king spends in the middle is a chance for a combination.
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 g1, queen f4, rook e1 f1, bishop d2, knight c4 h5, pawn a2 g2 h2 b3.
Black: king f8, queen b7, rook a8 g8, bishop d8, knight d4 c6, pawn a5 c5 f5 e7 g7 h7.
11 white and 13 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 19.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 2 points of material (32 against 34; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g1, the black king on f8.
It is White to move on move 19, with 51 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: c, e, f.
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
19. Qxf5+ Nxf5 20. Rxf5+ Ke8 21. Nd6+ Kd7 22. Nxb7
Why it works
- Great move! queen to f5 keeps the pressure (+4.1).
- Well found: rook to f5 (+4.5).
- Strong! knight to d6 is the sharp choice (+4.6).
- Great move! knight to b7 keeps the pressure (+4.5).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Nxf5, then Rxf5+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 19. Qxf5+ — queen to f5 (capture) with check
- Nxf5 — knight to f5 (capture)
- 20. Rxf5+ — rook to f5 (capture) with check
- Ke8 — king to e8
- 21. Nd6+ — knight to d6 with check
- Kd7 — king to d7
- 22. Nxb7 — knight to b7 (capture)
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.
Uncastled king
The king lingered in the middle — punish the delay.
Punishing the uncastled king: your opponent delayed castling, and now his king is stuck on its starting square under fire. In Chess960 this is deadlier than in classical chess — the king may start in the center or near the edge, and the familiar defensive setups simply do not apply. The signs: the victim still holds castling rights, and the files toward his king are half-open. Open lines before the king manages to hide.
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 #297.
SP-297 · BastionScout — Off-centre king plus a rim knight (a/h): 168 positions carry this shape.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on c1 and g1, the queen on a1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
The bishops stand on d1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a5 once the e- and d-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 377.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Morozov Balance Index: 31 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +32 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #297Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 014 · SP-297
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads