Winning blow: queen to e3 (f2·3)
c9-25606naming 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 f1, queen f2, rook a1 g1, bishop c1 d1, knight d2 e2, pawn a2 b2 h2 g3 d4 f4 d5 e5.
Black: king g8, queen e8, rook a8 f8, bishop c8 d8, knight d3 h4, pawn a4 f5 b6 e6 c7 g7 h7.
16 white and 15 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 13.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (39 against 38; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on f1, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 13, with 25 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. Half-open for White: c.
The White king has 1 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
13. Qe3 Nxc1 14. Rxc1 Ng6 15. dxe6
Why it works
- Great move! queen to e3 keeps the pressure (+2.1).
- Spot on — rook to c1 (+1.9).
- Precise: pawn to e6 is the top choice (+2.2).
- You reach a winning position (+2.2).
- If instead Nxc1, then Rxc1 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 13. Qe3 — queen to e3
- Nxc1 — knight to c1 (capture)
- 14. Rxc1 — rook to c1 (capture)
- Ng6 — knight to g6
- 15. dxe6 — pawn to e6 (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?
Development punish
Half the army still asleep — the attack breaks through.
Punishing lazy development: half of your opponent's army is asleep on its starting squares, which means you outnumber him where the fight is. Count not the pieces on the board but the pieces in play — if five or more of his pieces have never moved, look for a forcing attack. The sign is a development lead plus open lines toward his king. Strike immediately: give him two quiet moves and the advantage evaporates.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #613.
SP-613 · BastionScout — A c- or f-file king with at least one knight out on the edge.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on a1 and g1, the queen on e1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
The bishops stand on c1 and d1; their long diagonals reach h6 and h5 once the d- and e-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 250.
The engine's main line opens with e4, 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 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #613Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 009 · SP-613
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