Winning blow: queen to f5 (f3)
c9-12782naming tag (square·N)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 1060 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 c2, queen f3, rook a1 d1, knight b2, pawn h2 e3 b4.
Black: king c8, queen f5, pawn b5 c5 b6 f6 g7 h7.
8 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 28.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 10 points of material (25 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 c2, the black king on c8.
It is White to move on move 28, with 9 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 3 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, d — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: c, f, g.
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
28. Qxf5+ Kb7 29. Rd8 cxb4 30. Qd7#
Why it works
- Great move! queen to f5 keeps the pressure (#2).
- rook to d8 develops smoothly.
- Precise: queen to d7 is the top choice (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 3.
- If instead Kb7, then Rd8 and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 28. Qxf5+ — queen to f5 (capture) with check
- Kb7 — king to b7
- 29. Rd8 — rook to d8
- cxb4 — pawn to b4 (capture)
- 30. Qd7# — queen to d7 and it is checkmate
Types in this puzzle
Ladder mate
Two heavy pieces climb line by line, cutting off every retreat.
The ladder mate uses two heavy pieces climbing rung by rung: one cuts the king off along a line, the other checks on the next line, driving him toward the edge. It is the classic two-rook technique — check, the king retreats one rank, the other rook checks, until mate on the last rank. The only danger is the king creeping close enough to attack one of your rooks. If it does, simply slide that rook to the far side of the same line.
Mate in 3
A forced checkmate in three moves.
Mate in three is a forced staircase: each of your moves narrows the opponent's choices, and the third one ends the game. Look for the start among checks and sacrifices — quiet first moves are rare in mating problems, but deliciously sneaky. Keep the tree in your head: every defense gets its own branch. Do not stop calculating after move two — see the final mating picture with your own eyes.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #797.
SP-797 · BastionScout — King shifted to c or f, with a knight committed to the corner from move one.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on a1 and f1, the queen on b1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
The bishops stand on d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
The pawn on d2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 168.
The engine's main line opens with Ng3, bringing the knight out to g3.
Morozov Balance Index: 72 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +20 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #797Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 006 · SP-797
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