Winning blow: queen to a8 (e4·4)
c9-24340naming 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 1700 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
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 h2, queen e4, rook g5, bishop f2, pawn b3 f3 h4.
Black: king e8, queen d7, bishop c3 e6, knight f5, pawn f4 h5 a7 e7.
7 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 39.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 2 points of material (20 against 22; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on h2, the black king on e8.
It is White to move on move 39, with 40 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): c, d, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, e.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 4 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
39. Qa8+ Qd8 40. Qc6+ Qd7 41. Qxc3 Qd5 42. Rxh5
Why it works
- Great move! queen to a8 keeps the pressure (+2.8).
- Well found: queen to c6 (+2.5).
- Precise: queen to c3 is the top choice (+2.8).
- Best move. rook to h5 is exactly what the engine plays (+3.3).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead Qd8, then Qc6+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 39. Qa8+ — queen to a8 with check
- Qd8 — queen to d8
- 40. Qc6+ — queen to c6 with check
- Qd7 — queen to d7
- 41. Qxc3 — queen to c3 (capture)
- Qd5 — queen to d5
- 42. Rxh5 — rook 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.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #156.
SP-156 · BastionScout — King off-centre on c or f with a knight starting on the rim (a/h).
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.
The bishops stand on b1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a7 once the c- and f-pawns step aside.
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 BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 812.
The engine's main line opens with d4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 94 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +10 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #156Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 013 · SP-156
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