Winning blow: king to f2 (f3)
c9-20207naming 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 1110 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 f3, queen d8, rook f1 b8, bishop d1, knight c1 b3, pawn a2 c2 h2 a5.
Black: king f7, queen e4, rook h8, bishop e8, knight g3, pawn f4 c6 d7 e7 g7 h7.
11 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 20.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 6 points of material (32 against 26; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on f3, the black king on f7.
It is White to move on move 20, 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 4 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: d, e, f, g.
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
20. Kf2 Nxf1 21. Kxf1
Why it works
- Great move! king to f2 keeps the pressure (+2.9).
- Spot on — king to f1 (+1.4).
- You reach a winning position (+1.4).
- If instead Nxf1, then Kxf1 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 20. Kf2 — king to f2
- Nxf1 — knight to f1 (capture)
- 21. Kxf1 — king to f1 (capture)
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.
King evacuation
The king walks out of the danger zone on its own feet.
King evacuation: when the shelter collapses, the king walks out of the attack on his own feet — sometimes across half the board. A series of precise king moves carries him out of the firing zone, and the enemy attack dissolves. The signs: no direct defense works, but there is a route over unattacked squares to a quiet corner. Calculate the entire journey in advance — a king stranded halfway usually dies there.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #169.
SP-169 · BastionScout — A c- or f-file king with at least one knight out on the edge.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on b1 and h1, the queen on g1.
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 d1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a5 once the e- and d-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 793.
The engine's main line opens with c4.
Morozov Balance Index: 34 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +31 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #169Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 007 · SP-169
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