Winning blow: queen to h5 (e2·2)
c9-24223naming 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 1250 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 e2, rook f1, bishop a1 g6, knight b5, pawn c2 d2 g2 b3 h3 a4 e4 f4.
Black: king g8, queen c6, rook c8 f8, bishop b7, knight b4, pawn c4 d5 b6 f6 a7 e7 g7.
14 white and 13 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 18.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 1 points of material (31 against 32; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g1, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 18, with 45 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 8 pawns, Black 7. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in.
White hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. 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
18. Qh5 Qc5+ 19. Nd4 Qxd4+ 20. Bxd4
Why it works
- Great move! queen to h5 keeps the pressure (#4).
- knight to d4 develops smoothly.
- Precise: bishop to d4 is the top choice (#2).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Qc5+, then Nd4 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 18. Qh5 — queen to h5
- Qc5+ — queen to c5 with check
- 19. Nd4 — knight to d4
- Qxd4+ — queen to d4 (capture) with check
- 20. Bxd4 — bishop to d4 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Quiet move
No check, no capture — yet this modest move decides the game.
A quiet move gives no check and takes nothing — yet it decides the game by creating an unstoppable threat or stealing the king's last square. This is the hardest class of moves: the eye hunts for loud blows while a modest shift does the winning. The clue: every forcing try runs into a defense, so seek the move that strengthens the threat or takes squares away. Train yourself to ask: what if I neither capture nor check, but quietly improve?
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #321.
SP-321 · BastionScout — Off-centre king plus a rim knight (a/h): 168 positions carry this shape.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on c1 and g1, the queen on e1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
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 347.
The engine's main line opens with Ng3, bringing the knight out to g3.
Morozov Balance Index: 47 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +27 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #321Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 009 · SP-321
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