Winning blow: king to e2 (f1·14)
c9-16289naming 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 f1, rook d7, knight c7, pawn a2 g2 b3 h4 e6.
Black: king h8, rook c1, knight g4, pawn a5 b5 h5 g7.
8 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 40.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (13 against 12; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on f1, the black king on h8.
It is White to move on move 40, 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 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, d, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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
40. Ke2 Nf6 41. e7 Kg8 42. e8=Q+ Nxe8 43. Nxe8
Why it works
- Great move! king to e2 keeps the pressure (+4.4).
- Spot on — pawn to e7 (+4.4).
- Precise: pawn to e8 is the top choice (+4.4).
- Great move! knight to e8 keeps the pressure (+4.5).
- You reach a winning position (+4.5).
- If instead Nf6, then e7 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 40. Ke2 — king to e2
- Nf6 — knight to f6
- 41. e7 — pawn to e7
- Kg8 — king to g8
- 42. e8=Q+ — pawn to e8 with check
- Nxe8 — knight to e8 (capture)
- 43. Nxe8 — knight to e8 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Promotion
The pawn reaches the last rank and becomes a queen — decisively.
Promotion turns a pawn on the last rank into a queen and rewrites the evaluation on the spot. In tactics the passer rarely walks in for free — usually a sacrifice clears its path. Count the tempi: how many moves does the pawn need, and can the defender stop it in time? And watch the promotion square itself — it must be out of enemy reach or won by force in your combination.
Passed pawn
Nothing can stop the passer — escort it to the last rank.
A passed pawn has no enemy pawns in front of it or on the neighboring files: only pieces can stop it. Check who can blockade the pawn or catch it with the king — if nobody can, the pawn is worth a whole piece. Push the passer with your pieces supporting it, and put your rook behind it. The beginner's mistake is shoving the pawn forward unprotected, straight into a capture.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #138.
SP-138 · RampartScout — King on the wing (b/g) with a knight on the rim (a/h) — the rarest family.
The king starts on g1, the rooks on b1 and h1, the queen on c1.
The king already stands on its castled square, so castling short moves only the rook, from h1 to f1.
The bishops stand on e1 and f1; their long diagonals reach a5 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the RampartScout family; read right to left it becomes position 821.
The engine's main line opens with d4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 8 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +45 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #138Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 010 · SP-138
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