Winning blow: pawn to g6 (f5·8)
c9-24230naming 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 g1, rook e8, bishop f7, knight e3, pawn h2 g3 f5.
Black: king h7, rook d4, bishop e5 a6, pawn h5 f6 g6 a7.
7 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 35.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 1 points of material (14 against 15; 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 h7.
It is White to move on move 35, with 31 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, c, d, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a.
Black 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
35. fxg6+ Kh6 36. Rh8+ Kg5 37. g7 Rd1+ 38. Nxd1
Why it works
- Great move! pawn to g6 keeps the pressure (#6).
- Well found: rook to h8 (#5).
- A natural move: pawn to g7.
- Best move. knight to d1 is exactly what the engine plays (#7).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kh6, then Rh8+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 35. fxg6+ — pawn to g6 (capture) with check
- Kh6 — king to h6
- 36. Rh8+ — rook to h8 with check
- Kg5 — king to g5
- 37. g7 — pawn to g7
- Rd1+ — rook to d1 with check
- 38. Nxd1 — knight to d1 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Winning blow
Find the strike that wins material by force.
A winning blow is a forced material gain that does not fit a single textbook motif. The general tactical recipe applies: spot loose pieces, an awkwardly placed king, overloaded lines. Go through the forcing moves in order of violence — checks, captures, threats — because most combinations start with one of them. Do not judge by feel: calculate the concrete line until the outcome is beyond doubt.
Endgame tactic
Tactics live in the endgame too — strike while material is scarce.
Tactics do not retire when the queens come off: forks, pins and double attacks live on in the endgame. With so little material left, every tactical loss is almost always decisive. The signs are the usual ones — undefended pieces, king and piece on one line, a pawn about to promote. Even in a "technical" ending, scan for a shot before every move, both yours and your opponent's.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #512.
SP-512 · BastionGuard — A c- or f-file king and two knights on inner files (b–g).
The king starts on f1, the rooks on c1 and h1, the queen on e1.
Castling ends where it always does: king to g1 and rook to f1 on the short side, king to c1 and rook to d1 on the long one.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
The pawn on g2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 543.
The engine's main line opens with c4.
Morozov Balance Index: 83 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +16 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #512Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-512
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads