Winning blow: knight to f8 (g6·3)
c9-23546naming 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 e2, queen g2, rook g1, knight f2 g6, pawn a2 b3 e3 f5 h7.
Black: king g7, queen c8, rook a7 f8, bishop b8, knight b4, pawn d2 c5 e5 a6 e6.
10 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 26.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 5 points of material (25 against 30; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on e2, the black king on g7.
It is White to move on move 26, with 45 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): g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: c, d.
The White king has 4 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
26. Nxf8+ Kf7 27. Qg7+ Ke8 28. Nd7 Kd8 29. h8=Q+
Why it works
- Great move! knight to f8 keeps the pressure (#8).
- Spot on — queen to g7 (#6).
- A natural move: knight to d7.
- Best move. pawn to h8 is exactly what the engine plays (#5).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kf7, then Qg7+ and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 26. Nxf8+ — knight to f8 (capture) with check
- Kf7 — king to f7
- 27. Qg7+ — queen to g7 with check
- Ke8 — king to e8
- 28. Nd7 — knight to d7
- Kd8 — king to d8
- 29. h8=Q+ — pawn to h8 with check
Types in this puzzle
Discovered check
The moving piece opens a check — and is free to grab anything meanwhile.
With a discovered check the moving piece unmasks a check from the piece standing behind it. While the king deals with the check, the piece that moved grabs whatever it likes, free of charge. Look for your long-range piece on a line with the enemy king, with exactly one of your own pieces in between. The rule: among all the ways to step aside, pick the one that captures or attacks the most expensive loot.
Promotion
The pawn reaches the last rank and becomes a queen — decisively.
Promotion turns a pawn on the last rank into a queen and rewrites the evaluation on the spot. In tactics the passer rarely walks in for free — usually a sacrifice clears its path. Count the tempi: how many moves does the pawn need, and can the defender stop it in time? And watch the promotion square itself — it must be out of enemy reach or won by force in your combination.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #600.
SP-600 · BastionScout — King off-centre on c or f with a knight starting on the rim (a/h).
The king starts on f1, the rooks on a1 and g1, the queen on c1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
The bishops stand on b1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a5 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 269.
The engine's main line opens with Ng3, bringing the knight out to g3.
Morozov Balance Index: 86 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +15 centipawns for White (depth 49, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #600Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-600
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