Winning blow: queen to e8 (d8)
c9-21228naming 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 1870 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
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 g2, queen d8, rook h1, bishop a3 d3, knight e4, pawn g3 f4 h4 b5 e5.
Black: king g8, rook h6, bishop e8 f8, knight d5, pawn f2 h5 g6 b7 f7.
11 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 27.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 9 points of material (28 against 19; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g2, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 27, with 50 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): a, c, d — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
The White king has 5 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
27. Qxe8 f1=Q+ 28. Kxf1 Ne3+ 29. Kf2
Why it works
- Great move! queen to e8 keeps the pressure (#5).
- Spot on — king to f1 (#4).
- A natural move: king to f2.
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead f1=Q+, then Rxf1 and you win the bishop.
Move by move
- 27. Qxe8 — queen to e8 (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.
Counter-strike
Don't defend — answer the threat with a bigger one.
The counter-strike: instead of defending against the threat, you answer with a bigger threat of your own. While your opponent grabs a pawn, you deliver mate — the arithmetic favors you. Look for a counter when direct defenses fail: do you have a check, an attack on the queen, a mating threat? The beginner's error is meeting every threat with a reflexive defense without checking the counterattacking resources first.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #426.
SP-426 · RampartGuard — King on the wing (b/g) with both knights on inner files.
The king starts on g1, the rooks on a1 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.
The bishops stand on e1 and f1; their long diagonals reach a5 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 725.
The engine's main line opens with d4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 26 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +34 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #426Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 014 · SP-426
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