Winning blow: queen to f8 (b4)
c9-22273naming 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 1200 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 b2, queen b4, rook c2, pawn b3 h3 f4.
Black: king d8, queen e6, rook a8, pawn f6 d7 h7.
6 white and 6 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 40.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 17 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on b2, the black king on d8.
It is White to move on move 40, with 34 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, c, e, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: d.
The White king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
40. Qf8+ Qe8 41. Qxf6+ Qe7 42. Qh8+ Qe8 43. Qxh7
Why it works
- Great move! queen to f8 keeps the pressure (+4.4).
- Well found: queen to f6 (+4.5).
- Strong! queen to h8 is the sharp choice (+4.8).
- Best move. queen to h7 is exactly what the engine plays (+4.9).
- You reach a winning position (+4.9).
- If instead Qe8, then Qxf6+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 40. Qf8+ — queen to f8 with check
- Qe8 — queen to e8
- 41. Qxf6+ — queen to f6 (capture) with check
- Qe7 — queen to e7
- 42. Qh8+ — queen to h8 with check
- Qe8 — queen to e8
- 43. Qxh7 — queen to h7 (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.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #187.
SP-187 · ThroneScout — A central king (d or e), but with a knight posted out on the a- or h-file.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on b1 and f1, the queen on g1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from d1 to g1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 769.
The engine's main line opens with g4.
Morozov Balance Index: 47 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +27 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #187Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-187
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads