Winning blow: king to h2 (g1·39)
c9-24202naming 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 1390 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 g1, queen b7, rook h5, bishop b5, pawn f2 g2 a4.
Black: king d6, queen a1, rook h8, knight c6, pawn f4 h4 d5.
7 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 37.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 20 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on g1, the black king on d6.
It is White to move on move 37, with 2 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle. White are in check right now, so every reply must answer the check.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, c, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: d, h.
The White king has 1 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
37. Kh2 Rxh5 38. Qxc6+ Ke5 39. Qe8+ Kd4 40. Qxh5
Why it works
- Great move! king to h2 keeps the pressure (+5.3).
- Well found: queen to c6 (+5.2).
- Strong! queen to e8 is the sharp choice (+5.3).
- Great move! queen to h5 keeps the pressure (+5.3).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Rxh5, then Qxc6+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 37. Kh2 — king to h2
- Rxh5 — rook to h5 (capture)
- 38. Qxc6+ — queen to c6 (capture) with check
- Ke5 — king to e5
- 39. Qe8+ — queen to e8 with check
- Kd4 — king to d4
- 40. Qxh5 — queen to h5 (capture)
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.
Sacrifice attack
Give up material to unleash a decisive attack.
A sacrificial attack gives up material on purpose to rip the king's shelter open and launch a decisive assault. The sac is sound when you get concrete assets in return: open lines to the king, tempi, pieces ready to pour in. The signs: a poorly sheltered king, your forces aimed at its home, defenders stranded far away. The iron rule is to calculate, not hope — once the material is gone, there is no way back.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #410.
SP-410 · RampartGuard — A b- or g-file king and two knights on inner files (b–g).
The king starts on g1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on b1.
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 741.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 95 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +9 centipawns for White (depth 49, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #410Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 010 · SP-410
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