Winning blow: queen to g7 (c3·3)
c9-26251naming 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 e1, queen c3, rook b1 f1, bishop c1 d1, pawn a2 c2 d2 g2 h2 e4 b5 g5.
Black: king e8, queen a8, rook g7 b8, bishop c8 d8, knight b6 h8, pawn a5 b7 c7 d7 e7 h7.
14 white and 14 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 14.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 4 points of material (33 against 37; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on e1, the black king on e8.
It is White to move on move 14, with 51 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 8 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): f — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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
14. Qxg7 d5 15. Qg8+ Kd7 16. Bg4+ Kd6 17. Qxd8+
Why it works
- Best move. queen to g7 is exactly what the engine plays (#6).
- Spot on — queen to g8 (#6).
- Strong! bishop to g4 is the sharp choice (#5).
- Best move. queen to d8 is exactly what the engine plays (#4).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead d5, then Qg8+ and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 14. Qxg7 — queen to g7 (capture)
- d5 — pawn to d5
- 15. Qg8+ — queen to g8 with check
- Kd7 — king to d7
- 16. Bg4+ — bishop to g4 with check
- Kd6 — king to d6
- 17. Qxd8+ — queen to d8 (capture) with check
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 #869.
SP-869 · ThroneScout — King in the middle of the rank, with a knight already committed to the corner.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on b1 and f1, the queen on a1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
The bishops stand on c1 and d1; their long diagonals reach h6 and h5 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: g2, h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 90.
The engine's main line opens with Ng3, bringing the knight out to g3.
Morozov Balance Index: 61 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +23 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #869Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-869
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads