Winning blow: queen to h7 (h3·2)
c9-24055naming 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.
A fork made possible by the Chess960 piece placement.
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.
A set-up fork needs one preparing move before the fork lands — a check that drives the king onto the forking square, or a capture that lines the targets up. Find the preparation first, then the fork it makes possible.
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 c1, queen h3, rook b1 e1, bishop d2, knight d4 e5, pawn a2 e2 h2 c3 g3 b4 f4.
Black: king d8, queen a4, rook f6 b8, bishop f7 h8, knight b6, pawn e4 g6 a7 b7 c7 e7 h7.
14 white and 14 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 15.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 35 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on c1, the black king on d8.
It is White to move on move 15, with 42 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 7. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. 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
15. Qxh7 Qe8 16. Nxf7+ Rxf7 17. Ne6+ Kc8 18. Qxg6
Why it works
- Great move! queen to h7 keeps the pressure (+3.8).
- Spot on — knight to f7 (+3.7).
- Precise: knight to e6 is the top choice (+3.9).
- Great move! queen to g6 keeps the pressure (+4.2).
- You reach a winning position (+4.2).
- If instead Qe8, then Nxf7+ and you win the bishop.
Move by move
- 15. Qxh7 — queen to h7 (capture)
- Qe8 — queen to e8
- 16. Nxf7+ — knight to f7 (capture) with check
- Rxf7 — rook to f7 (capture)
- 17. Ne6+ — knight to e6 with check
- Kc8 — king to c8
- 18. Qxg6 — queen to g6 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Setup fork
The random setup allows a fork that classical chess never sees.
A setup fork is a double attack that exists only because of the unusual starting squares — in classical chess these targets never stand side by side. Look for pairs of undefended pieces on your opponent's back rank and for squares from which a knight or pawn hits both at once. Such forks usually appear within the first moves, before the pieces disperse. In every new position, note right away which starting pieces are defended by no one.
Queen fork
The queen lands on a square from which it attacks two targets at once.
The queen strikes along files, ranks and diagonals, so she forks more often than any other piece. Look for a square where the queen attacks two undefended targets at once — most often a check combined with a loose piece. Diagonal blows are especially venomous: a slanting check that also eyes a rook in the corner is the classic of the genre. Remember that both targets must be unprotected, or your «fork» is just a shot into the air.
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 #363.
SP-363 · BastionScout — Off-centre king plus a rim knight (a/h): 168 positions carry this shape.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and d1, the queen on f1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 305.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 75 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +19 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #363Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-363
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