Winning blow: king to e2 (e1·7)
c9-14915naming 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 e1, queen c7, rook f1 b8, bishop d2, knight c5, pawn h2 f3 c4.
Black: king e8, queen a1, rook f8, bishop c8, knight d6, pawn g4 h6 e7.
9 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 25.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 5 points of material (28 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 e1, the black king on e8.
It is White to move on move 25, with 4 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 3 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, b, d — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: e, g.
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
25. Ke2 Qe5+ 26. Kd3 Qf5+ 27. Kc3
Why it works
- Great move! king to e2 keeps the pressure (+4.2).
- king to d3 develops smoothly.
- A natural move: king to c3.
- You reach a winning position (+4.6).
- If instead Qe5+, then Kd3 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 25. Ke2 — king to e2
Types in this puzzle
Discovered attack
A piece steps aside and opens a second attack from the piece behind it.
A discovered attack works like a curtain: one piece steps off the line and unveils the long-range piece behind it. The beauty is that the moving piece can create a second threat of its own — two attacks in one move. Look for your stacked pairs: a bishop or rook behind a knight or pawn, aimed through them at something valuable. Send the front piece to the most aggressive square — a discovery without a second threat wastes half its power.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #239.
SP-239 · ThroneScout — King in the middle of the rank, with a knight already committed to the corner.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on b1 and f1, the queen on c1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from d1 to g1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 624.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 26 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +34 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #239Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 005 · SP-239
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