Winning blow: king to f2 (g1·12)
c9-24631naming 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, queen e4, rook c1, bishop d3, knight e2 g3, pawn g2 h2 a5 f5.
Black: king f8, queen a8, rook d5, bishop f2 c6, knight h4, pawn h6 a7 e7 f7 g7.
10 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 31.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 1 points of material (27 against 28; 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 f8.
It is White to move on move 31, with 3 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 4 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, c, d — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: e.
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
31. Kxf2 Rxf5+ 32. Nxf5 Bxe4 33. Bxe4 Qd8 34. Nxh4
Why it works
- Great move! king to f2 keeps the pressure (+2.8).
- Well found: knight to f5 (+2.6).
- Stunning! bishop to e4 gives up material but you stand better (+2.7).
- Best move. knight to h4 is exactly what the engine plays (+2.8).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Rxf5+, then Nxf5 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 31. Kxf2 — king to f2 (capture)
- Rxf5+ — rook to f5 (capture) with check
- 32. Nxf5 — knight to f5 (capture)
- Bxe4 — bishop to e4 (capture)
- 33. Bxe4 — bishop to e4 (capture)
- Qd8 — queen to d8
- 34. Nxh4 — knight to h4 (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.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #296.
SP-296 · BastionScout — The king starts one file off-centre, on c or f, and a knight begins in a corner.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on d1 and g1, the queen on a1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
The bishops stand on b1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a5 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 381.
The engine's main line opens with Ng3, bringing the knight out to g3.
Morozov Balance Index: 51 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +26 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #296Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-296
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