Winning blow: knight to e5 (d3·18)
c9-25208naming 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 1290 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 f2, queen h5, bishop c2, knight d3, pawn h2 b4 f4 d5 h6.
Black: king h7, queen a1, rook f8, knight c4, pawn a5 b6 c6.
9 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 32.
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 f2, the black king on h7.
It is White to move on move 32, with 32 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, c.
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
32. Ne5+ Kh8 33. Ng6+ Kh7 34. Nxf8+
Why it works
- Great move! knight to e5 keeps the pressure (#8).
- Well found: knight to g6 (#7).
- Precise: knight to f8 is the top choice (#6).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kh8, then Ng6+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 32. Ne5+ — knight to e5 with check
- Kh8 — king to h8
- 33. Ng6+ — knight to g6 with check
- Kh7 — king to h7
- 34. Nxf8+ — knight to f8 (capture) with check
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.
Discovered check
The moving piece opens a check — and is free to grab anything meanwhile.
With a discovered check the moving piece unmasks a check from the piece standing behind it. While the king deals with the check, the piece that moved grabs whatever it likes, free of charge. Look for your long-range piece on a line with the enemy king, with exactly one of your own pieces in between. The rule: among all the ways to step aside, pick the one that captures or attacks the most expensive loot.
Double check
Two pieces give check at once — only a king move can answer.
A double check is check from two pieces at once: the one that moved and the one it unveiled. Blocking or capturing is useless against two checks — only a king move helps. Look for a discovered check where the front piece can give check as well. It is the most forcing move in chess: you may even hang your queen with it, because nobody has time to take her.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #240.
SP-240 · ThroneGuard — King on a central file (d/e) with both knights on inner files — the classic-type setup.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on d1 and h1, the queen on f1.
The queenside rook already stands on d1, so castling long moves only the king, from e1 to c1.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 623.
The engine's main line opens with c4.
Morozov Balance Index: 65 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +22 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #240Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 009 · SP-240
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