Winning blow: king to h2 (h1·6)
c9-16015naming 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 1390 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 h1, queen g6, rook f5, bishop e2, knight e6, pawn g3 h4.
Black: king h8, queen b1, rook a8, bishop c7, knight d5, pawn a6 f6 b7.
7 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 32.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 1 points of material (22 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 h1, the black king on h8.
It is White to move on move 32, with 5 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 2 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, d, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, b, 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
32. Kh2 Bxg3+ 33. Qxg3 Rg8 34. Rh5+ Qh7 35. Rxh7+
Why it works
- Great move! king to h2 keeps the pressure (#10).
- Well found: queen to g3 (#9).
- Strong! rook to h5 is the sharp choice (#7).
- Best move. rook to h7 is exactly what the engine plays (#6).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Bxg3+, then Qxg3 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 32. Kh2 — king to h2
- Bxg3+ — bishop to g3 (capture) with check
- 33. Qxg3 — queen to g3 (capture)
- Rg8 — rook to g8
- 34. Rh5+ — rook to h5 with check
- Qh7 — queen to h7
- 35. Rxh7+ — rook to h7 (capture) with check
Types in this puzzle
Win the pinned piece
The pinned piece cannot run — attack it again and win it.
A pinned piece cannot flee, which means you can win it outright by attacking it one more time. Count attackers against defenders: if you outnumber them, the piece is yours. The best extra attacker is a pawn, since it costs less than anything it might capture. Do not rush the capture — build up the pressure first, then harvest.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #441.
SP-441 · RampartGuard — King pushed to the b- or g-file, knights off the edges — 144 positions here.
The king starts on g1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on f1.
The king already stands on its castled square, so castling short moves only the rook, from h1 to f1.
The bishops stand on d1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a5 once the e- and d-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: b2.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 713.
The engine's main line opens with d4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 43 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +28 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #441Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 010 · SP-441
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