Winning blow: king to f1 (g1·20)
c9-19580naming 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 g1, queen e7, rook c7, bishop c3, knight g2 g3, pawn a2 f2.
Black: king h7, queen g4, rook h6, knight f3, pawn e5 h5 b6 a7 g7.
8 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 25.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 3 points of material (25 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 g1, the black king on h7.
It is White to move on move 25, 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 2 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, d — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b, e, g, 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
25. Kf1 Nh2+ 26. Ke1 Nf3+ 27. Kd1
Why it works
- Great move! king to f1 keeps the pressure (+3.9).
- Spot on — king to e1 (+3.5).
- A natural move: king to d1.
- You reach a winning position (+4.3).
- If instead Nh2+, then Ke1 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 25. Kf1 — king to f1
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 #401.
SP-401 · RampartGuard — A wing king (b/g) with no knight on the a- or h-file.
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.
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 747.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Morozov Balance Index: 96 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: -7 centipawns for White (depth 41, 400 000 000 nodes).
In 50 self-play games White scored 49.0% (95% CI 35.7–62.4%).
Explore position #401Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 006 · SP-401
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