Winning blow: king to g1 (f2·3)
c9-13542naming 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 f2, queen f6, rook b1 e1, bishop h1, knight f1, pawn a2 d2 g2 h2 c3 f5.
Black: king d8, queen a4, rook e7, bishop a8, knight d3, pawn g5 a7 d7 h7.
12 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 22.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 7 points of material (31 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 f2, the black king on d8.
It is White to move on move 22, 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 6 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, e — 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
22. Kg1 Nxe1 23. Rxe1 Be4 24. Qxg5
Why it works
- Great move! king to g1 keeps the pressure (+7.8).
- Spot on — rook to e1 (+7.1).
- Precise: queen to g5 is the top choice (+7.3).
- You win decisive material (+7.3).
- If instead Nxe1, then Qf8+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 22. Kg1 — king to g1
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 #867.
SP-867 · ThroneGuard — Both knights start on inner files (b–g) while the king sits centrally on d or e — one of 204 positions filed here.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on c1 and e1, the queen on b1.
Castling long simply swaps the two pieces: the king on d1 and the rook on c1 trade places.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: f2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 83.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Morozov Balance Index: 78 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +18 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #867Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 005 · SP-867
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