Winning blow: queen to g3 (f2·2)
c9-27167naming 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 f2, rook a1, bishop d1 h6, knight f3, pawn c2 g2 h3 f4.
Black: king g8, queen d5, rook e8 f8, bishop a2, pawn d6 a7 b7 c7 h7.
10 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 25.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 27 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on g1, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 25, with 34 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, b, d.
White 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
25. Qg3+ Kf7 26. Qg7+ Ke6 27. Ng5+ Qxg5 28. Bxg5
Why it works
- Great move! queen to g3 keeps the pressure (+10.1).
- Well found: queen to g7 (+10.8).
- Strong! knight to g5 is the sharp choice (+10.7).
- Great move! bishop to g5 keeps the pressure (+11.0).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kf7, then Qg7+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 25. Qg3+ — queen to g3 with check
- Kf7 — king to f7
- 26. Qg7+ — queen to g7 with check
- Ke6 — king to e6
- 27. Ng5+ — knight to g5 with check
- Qxg5 — queen to g5 (capture)
- 28. Bxg5 — bishop to g5 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Battery
Two pieces stacked on one line — the front one strikes with double force.
A battery stacks two long-range pieces on one line — a queen behind a bishop on a diagonal, or doubled rooks on a file. The front piece strikes with double force: capture it, and the piece behind recaptures with even more pressure. The battery is ready when both pieces already stare at one point and only the front strike is missing. Build batteries in advance on lines leading to the king — the doubling itself often breeds the combination.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #229.
SP-229 · BastionScout — A c- or f-file king with at least one knight out on the edge.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on b1 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 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: a2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 634.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 80 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +17 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #229Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-229
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