Winning blow: queen to f5 (b1·3)
c9-13371naming 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 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 h2, queen b1, rook c1 f1, bishop f2, knight h5, pawn d2 g2 f3 b4 c4 a5.
Black: king f7, queen b8, rook d8 f8, bishop f5, knight a4 h8, pawn d4 d6 a7 b7 c7 h7.
12 white and 13 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 18.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 3 points of material (31 against 34; 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 f7.
It is White to move on move 18, with 36 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: h.
The White king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
18. Qxf5+ Kg8 19. Nf6+ Rxf6 20. Qxf6
Why it works
- Great move! queen to f5 keeps the pressure (+5.5).
- Spot on — knight to f6 (+5.0).
- Strong! queen to f6 is the sharp choice (+5.0).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kg8, then Nf6+ and you win the bishop.
Move by move
- 18. Qxf5+ — queen to f5 (capture) with check
- Kg8 — king to g8
- 19. Nf6+ — knight to f6 with check
- Rxf6 — rook to f6 (capture)
- 20. Qxf6 — queen to f6 (capture)
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 #317.
SP-317 · ThroneScout — King in the middle of the rank, with a knight already committed to the corner.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on c1 and f1, the queen on b1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
The bishops stand on d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: g2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 360.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 10 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +43 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #317Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 006 · SP-317
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