Winning blow: king to e1 (e2)
c9-16203naming 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 e2, queen h1, rook c1 g4, bishop f3, knight a4 f6, pawn a2 d2 f2 b3 e3 c4.
Black: king f8, queen d3, rook d8, bishop b7, knight b4, pawn h4 c5 a6 b6 e6 d7 f7.
13 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 22.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 7 points of material (34 against 27; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on e2, the black king on f8.
It is White to move on move 22, 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 6 pawns, Black 7. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: h.
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
22. Ke1 Bxf3 23. Qxf3 Nxa2 24. Nb2
Why it works
- Great move! king to e1 keeps the pressure (+5.9).
- Spot on — queen to f3 (+6.2).
- Precise: knight to b2 is the top choice (+6.5).
- You win decisive material (+6.5).
- If instead Bxf3, then Qxf3 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 22. Ke1 — king to e1
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 #177.
SP-177 · BastionGuard — King shifted to c or f, knights kept clear of the edges — 168 positions in all.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on c1 and g1, the queen on h1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 779.
The engine's main line opens with g4.
Morozov Balance Index: 8 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +45 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #177Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 005 · SP-177
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