Winning blow: king to f2 (e1·16)
c9-10886naming 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 1390 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 e1, queen f5, rook d1, bishop a1, knight c5, pawn a2 c2 d2 e2 b4 e5.
Black: king e8, queen b8, rook g1, bishop a8, knight h2, pawn d4 b5 d5 a7 h7.
11 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 21.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (26 against 25; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on e1, the black king on e8.
It is White to move on move 21, with 2 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle. White are in check right now, so every reply must answer the check.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): f, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: h.
The White king has 1 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
21. Kf2 Rg6 22. Rg1 Qc7 23. Rxg6 hxg6 24. Qxg6+
Why it works
- Great move! king to f2 keeps the pressure (+6.1).
- rook to g1 develops smoothly.
- Strong! rook to g6 is the sharp choice (+6.6).
- Best move. queen to g6 is exactly what the engine plays (+4.9).
- You reach a winning position (+4.9).
- If instead Rg6, then Rg1 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 21. Kf2 — king to f2
- Rg6 — rook to g6
- 22. Rg1 — rook to g1
- Qc7 — queen to c7
- 23. Rxg6 — rook to g6 (capture)
- hxg6 — pawn to g6 (capture)
- 24. Qxg6+ — queen to g6 (capture) with check
Types in this puzzle
Discovered attack
A piece steps aside and opens a second attack from the piece behind it.
A discovered attack works like a curtain: one piece steps off the line and unveils the long-range piece behind it. The beauty is that the moving piece can create a second threat of its own — two attacks in one move. Look for your stacked pairs: a bishop or rook behind a knight or pawn, aimed through them at something valuable. Send the front piece to the most aggressive square — a discovery without a second threat wastes half its power.
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 #291.
SP-291 · ThroneGuard — Both knights start on inner files (b–g) while the king sits centrally on d or e — one of 204 positions filed here.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on d1 and f1, the queen on b1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
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 371.
The engine's main line opens with g3.
Morozov Balance Index: 75 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +19 centipawns for White (depth 49, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #291Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 010 · SP-291
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads