Winning blow: queen to h6 (f6·2)
c9-12233naming 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 h2, queen f6, rook e2, bishop c2, knight g5, pawn f2 g2 h3 c4 d4 e4.
Black: king g8, queen b3, rook f8, bishop c7, knight b8, pawn c5 d6 e6 f7.
11 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 32.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 2 points of material (26 against 24; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on h2, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 32, with 33 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, b — 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
32. Qh6 d5+ 33. Kh1 Qb1+ 34. Bxb1
Why it works
- Sensible development: queen to h6.
- king to h1 develops smoothly.
- Strong! bishop to b1 is the sharp choice (#2).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead d5+, then Kh1 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 32. Qh6 — queen to h6
Types in this puzzle
Quiet move
No check, no capture — yet this modest move decides the game.
A quiet move gives no check and takes nothing — yet it decides the game by creating an unstoppable threat or stealing the king's last square. This is the hardest class of moves: the eye hunts for loud blows while a modest shift does the winning. The clue: every forcing try runs into a defense, so seek the move that strengthens the threat or takes squares away. Train yourself to ask: what if I neither capture nor check, but quietly improve?
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #485.
SP-485 · BastionGuard — Off-centre king (c/f), no knight on the a- or h-file.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on b1 and h1, the queen on a1.
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.
The bishops stand on c1 and d1; their long diagonals reach h6 and h5 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
The pawn on f2 is defended by the king alone — the classic soft spot of the standard setup.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 570.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Morozov Balance Index: 99 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +3 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
In 50 self-play games White scored 51.0% (95% CI 37.6–64.3%).
Explore position #485Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 015 · SP-485
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