Winning blow: knight to f6 (e4·19)
c9-13591naming 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 1280 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 d1, queen h5, rook a1 g2, bishop a3, knight g3 e4, pawn a2 c2 b3 h3.
Black: king g8, queen g7, rook a8, bishop a6, knight e5 c6, pawn e3 b6 e6 f7.
11 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 29.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 5 points of material (32 against 27; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on d1, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 29, with 43 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: e, f.
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
29. Nf6+ Qxf6 30. Ne4+ Qg6 31. Qh6
Why it works
- Great move! knight to f6 keeps the pressure (+6.4).
- Well found: knight to e4 (+6.7).
- Strong! queen to h6 is the sharp choice (+6.6).
- You win decisive material (+6.6).
- If instead Qxf6, then Ne4+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 29. Nf6+ — knight to f6 with check
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 #614.
SP-614 · ThroneScout — The king starts on d or e while at least one knight begins in a corner.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on a1 and g1, the queen on d1.
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 f1; their long diagonals reach h6 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 246.
The engine's main line opens with d4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 55 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +25 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #614Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 009 · SP-614
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads