Winning blow: queen to f7 (d7)
c9-11370naming 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 1010 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 g1, queen d7, rook d1 h1, knight g5, pawn a2 f2 e3 g3 h4.
Black: king g7, rook h6 c8, pawn g4 e6 g6 a7 f7.
10 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 22.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 12 points of material (27 against 15; 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 g7.
It is White to move on move 22, with 45 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, c, d — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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
22. Qxf7+ Kh8 23. Rd7 Rc1+ 24. Kg2
Why it works
- Best move. queen to f7 is exactly what the engine plays (#4).
- rook to d7 develops smoothly.
- A natural move: king to g2.
- You win decisive material (+15.0).
- If instead Kh8, then Rd7 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 22. Qxf7+ — queen to f7 (capture) with check
Types in this puzzle
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 #385.
SP-385 · RampartGuard — The king starts out on a wing file, b or g, with neither knight in a corner.
The king starts on g1, the rooks on c1 and h1, the queen on b1.
The king already stands on its castled square, so castling short moves only the rook, from h1 to f1.
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 RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 763.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Morozov Balance Index: 89 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +14 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #385Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 006 · SP-385
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