Winning blow: knight to f6 (e8)
c9-18416naming 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 1010 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 d1, queen d8, rook e1, bishop a3, knight e8, pawn c2 e2 h2 d3.
Black: king g8, queen c6, bishop c8 h8, knight e7, pawn a5 h5 g6 f7.
9 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 23.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 2 points of material (24 against 22; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on d1, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 23, with 32 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, f, g.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
23. Nf6+ Kg7 24. Bxe7 Kh6 25. Qxh8+
Why it works
- Great move! knight to f6 keeps the pressure (#8).
- Well found: bishop to e7 (#7).
- Strong! queen to h8 is the sharp choice (#6).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead Kg7, then Bxe7 and you win the knight.
Move by move
- 23. Nf6+ — knight to f6 with check
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.
Double check
Two pieces give check at once — only a king move can answer.
A double check is check from two pieces at once: the one that moved and the one it unveiled. Blocking or capturing is useless against two checks — only a king move helps. Look for a discovered check where the front piece can give check as well. It is the most forcing move in chess: you may even hang your queen with it, because nobody has time to take her.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #871.
SP-871 · ThroneGuard — A central king (d or e) and two knights tucked onto inner files: the family that holds the standard array, SP-518.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on b1 and e1, the queen on a1.
Castling ends where it always does: king to g1 and rook to f1 on the short side, king to c1 and rook to d1 on the long one.
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: f2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 82.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Morozov Balance Index: 43 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +28 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #871Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 006 · SP-871
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