Winning blow: queen to h2 (d2)
c9-18946naming tag (square·N)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
Position on the board
White: king f1, queen d2, rook d1, bishop b3, knight b1 e1, pawn a3 e3 c4 d4 h5.
Black: king g8, queen g4, bishop h2, knight f5, pawn h3 a6 f7 g7.
11 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 23.
Solution & explanation
Main line
23. Qxh2 g5 24. Kf2 Qxh5 25. Nd2
Why it works
- Great move! queen to h2 keeps the pressure (+5.4).
- king to f2 develops smoothly.
- Precise: knight to d2 is the top choice (+5.5).
- You win decisive material (+5.5).
- If instead Ng3+, then Kg1 and you win the bishop.
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 #114.
SP-114 · RampartGuard — King on the wing (b/g) with both knights on inner files.
The king starts on g1, the rooks on d1 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.
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 RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 839.
The engine's main line opens with d4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 93 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +11 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #114Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 009 · SP-114
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