Winning blow: queen to f5 (f2)
c9-14120naming 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 920 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 d1, queen f2, rook c1, knight c5, pawn a2 b2 d2 g2 h2 c3 d3.
Black: king c8, queen f5, bishop g3 g6, knight b6, pawn g5 c6 a7 d7 h7.
11 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 16.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (24 against 23; 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 c8.
It is White to move on move 16, with 33 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. 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
16. Qxf5 Bxf5 17. hxg3
Why it works
- Great move! queen to f5 keeps the pressure (+4.8).
- Well found: pawn to g3 (+5.1).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Bxf5, then hxg3 and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 16. Qxf5 — queen to f5 (capture)
- Bxf5 — bishop to f5 (capture)
- 17. hxg3 — pawn to g3 (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.
Simplification
Trade the heavy pieces and steer into a won endgame.
Simplification is how you convert an advantage: by trading queens and rooks you extinguish the counterplay and steer the game into a won endgame. The rule is simple — the side with extra material trades pieces but keeps pawns. Look for exchanges once the material is already won and your opponent is still rattling threats. The mistake is avoiding the queen trade and letting him muddy the water forever.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #360.
SP-360 · ThroneScout — King on a central file (d/e) with a knight starting on the rim (a/h).
The king starts on d1, the rooks on c1 and f1, the queen on g1.
Castling long simply swaps the two pieces: the king on d1 and the rook on c1 trade places.
The bishops stand on b1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a5 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: b2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 317.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 14 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +40 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #360Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 004 · SP-360
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