Winning blow: queen to g7 (h7·6)
c9-23645naming 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 1430 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 f2, queen h7, bishop c3, pawn a3 b3 e4 h4.
Black: king f7, queen h3, rook g7, bishop b8, pawn h5 b6 a7.
7 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 31.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 4 points of material (16 against 20; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on f2, the black king on f7.
It is White to move on move 31, with 22 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, d, f, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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
31. Qxg7+ Ke6 32. Qg8+ Kd7 33. Qxb8 Qxc3 34. Qxa7+
Why it works
- Great move! queen to g7 keeps the pressure (+1.4).
- Spot on — queen to g8 (+2.0).
- Precise: queen to b8 is the top choice (+2.2).
- Best move. queen to a7 is exactly what the engine plays (+2.2).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Ke6, then Qg8+ and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 31. Qxg7+ — queen to g7 (capture) with check
- Ke6 — king to e6
- 32. Qg8+ — queen to g8 with check
- Kd7 — king to d7
- 33. Qxb8 — queen to b8 (capture)
- Qxc3 — queen to c3 (capture)
- 34. Qxa7+ — queen to a7 (capture) with check
Types in this puzzle
Royal fork
A fork with check: the king must move, and the second piece is lost.
A royal fork is a fork with check — one of the two targets is the king itself. The check must be answered first, so nobody is left to rescue the second piece. Look for squares where your piece gives check and simultaneously attacks an undefended queen or rook. It is the most reliable fork of all, because your opponent literally has no choice.
Win the pinned piece
The pinned piece cannot run — attack it again and win it.
A pinned piece cannot flee, which means you can win it outright by attacking it one more time. Count attackers against defenders: if you outnumber them, the piece is yours. The best extra attacker is a pawn, since it costs less than anything it might capture. Do not rush the capture — build up the pressure first, then harvest.
Remove the defender
Capture the guard first — then take what it protected.
Removing the defender is the straightforward plan: capture the guard first, then take what it guarded. Unlike deflection, the defender is not lured away — it is traded off or destroyed on the spot. Stare at the target you crave and ask who defends it, and whether that defender can be profitably eaten. Count the whole capture sequence, not just the first move — the trade must pay off at the end.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #129.
SP-129 · RampartGuard — King pushed to the b- or g-file, knights off the edges — 144 positions here.
The king starts on g1, the rooks on c1 and h1, the queen on e1.
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 827.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 24 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +35 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #129Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 011 · SP-129
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