Winning blow: queen to b7 (f3·8)
c9-15948naming tag (square·N)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 1870 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
White to move — find the best continuation
Position on the board
White: king b1, queen f3, rook h4, bishop b5, pawn a2 b2 d2 e3 h5.
Black: king d8, rook g8, bishop a7, pawn g3 d4 c5 b7.
9 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 34.
Solution & explanation
Main line
34. Qxb7 Rg7 35. Qxg7 Kc8 36. Qd7+
Why it works
- Best move. queen to b7 is exactly what the engine plays (#4).
- Spot on — queen to g7 (#3).
- Precise: queen to d7 is the top choice (#2).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Rg7, then Qxg7 and you win the rook.
Types in this puzzle
Hanging piece
A piece is left without protection — just take it.
A hanging piece is simply an unprotected piece you can take for free. It sounds primitive, yet most amateur games are decided exactly this way. Build the habit: before every move, sweep the board and note every undefended piece, yours and theirs. The classic mistake is hunting for a brilliant combination when all you need to do is bend down and pick up the gift.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #344.
SP-344 · ThroneScout — The king starts on d or e while at least one knight begins in a corner.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on c1 and g1, the queen on f1.
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.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: b2, h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 333.
The engine's main line opens with c4.
Morozov Balance Index: 37 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +30 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #344Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 014 · SP-344
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