Winning blow: queen to f6 (e5·2)
c9-18750naming 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 1280 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 g1, queen e5, rook f1 e2, bishop b5, knight d4 h6, pawn c2 g2 h2 a5 f5.
Black: king f8, queen d2, rook g8, bishop c8, knight f6, pawn e3 b6 a7 f7 h7.
12 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 28.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 8 points of material (33 against 25; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g1, the black king on f8.
It is White to move on move 28, with 48 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b, e.
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
28. Qxf6 Rxg2+ 29. Rxg2 Qxg2+ 30. Kxg2
Why it works
- Great move! queen to f6 keeps the pressure (#5).
- Spot on — rook to g2 (#4).
- Precise: king to g2 is the top choice (#3).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Rxg2+, then Rxg2 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 28. Qxf6 — queen to f6 (capture)
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 #230.
SP-230 · ThroneScout — The king starts on d or e while at least one knight begins in a corner.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on b1 and h1, the queen on d1.
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.
The bishops stand on c1 and f1; their long diagonals reach h6 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 ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 630.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 7 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +47 centipawns for White (depth 49, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #230Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 009 · SP-230
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