Winning blow: king to e2 (f1·6)
c9-12852naming 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 970 ShuffleRating — for beginners taking their first steps in Chess960 tactics.
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 f1, queen f3, rook h5, pawn a2 d2 f2 g2 e3 c4 g5.
Black: king f7, queen b1, rook g6, pawn c5 a6 d6 e6 f6.
10 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 28.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 2 points of material (21 against 19; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on f1, the black king on f7.
It is White to move on move 28, 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 7 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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
28. Ke2 d5 29. Rh7+ Kf8 30. Qh5
Why it works
- Great move! king to e2 keeps the pressure (+5.2).
- Spot on — rook to h7 (+5.6).
- A natural move: queen to h5.
- You win decisive material (+6.0).
- If instead a5, then Qa8 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 28. Ke2 — king to e2
Types in this puzzle
Winning blow
Find the strike that wins material by force.
A winning blow is a forced material gain that does not fit a single textbook motif. The general tactical recipe applies: spot loose pieces, an awkwardly placed king, overloaded lines. Go through the forcing moves in order of violence — checks, captures, threats — because most combinations start with one of them. Do not judge by feel: calculate the concrete line until the outcome is beyond doubt.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #396.
SP-396 · BastionGuard — King off-centre on c or f with both knights on inner files.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on c1 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 b1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a7 once the c- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: d2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 764.
The engine's main line opens with d4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 51 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +26 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #396Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 005 · SP-396
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads