Winning blow: king to e2 (f3·3)
c9-14704naming 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 f3, rook h1 h3, bishop d1, knight e4, pawn c2 f2 d3 a5 h5.
Black: king g7, rook g5 f8, bishop a7, knight a2, pawn d4 e5.
10 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 33.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 3 points of material (21 against 18; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on f3, the black king on g7.
It is White to move on move 33, 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 5 pawns, Black 2. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: e.
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
33. Ke2 Nc3+ 34. Kf1 Nxe4 35. dxe4
Why it works
- Best move. king to e2 is exactly what the engine plays (+2.7).
- Spot on — king to f1 (+2.5).
- Precise: pawn to e4 is the top choice (+3.4).
- You reach a winning position (+3.4).
- If instead Nc3+, then Ke1 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 33. 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 #69.
SP-69 · BastionScout — Off-centre king plus a rim knight (a/h): 168 positions carry this shape.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on e1 and h1, the queen on g1.
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 d1; their long diagonals reach h6 and h5 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 890.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 47 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +27 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #69Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 005 · SP-69
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads