Winning blow: king to f1 (g1·29)
c9-27219naming 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 1390 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 h7, rook d1 e1, bishop h1, pawn a2 f2 g2 h4 e6.
Black: king e8, queen c5, rook d4 g8, bishop a8, knight e2, pawn b5 f5 a6 g6.
10 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 23.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 2 points of material (27 against 29; 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 e8.
It is White to move on move 23, 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 5 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, d — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b.
The White king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
23. Kf1 Rf8 24. Qxg6+ Kd8 25. Rxd4+ Qxd4 26. Rxe2
Why it works
- Great move! king to f1 keeps the pressure (+2.5).
- Spot on — queen to g6 (+3.3).
- Stunning! rook to d4 gives up material but you are winning (+3.1).
- Best move. rook to e2 is exactly what the engine plays (+3.2).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Rf8, then Qxg6+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 23. Kf1 — king to f1
- Rf8 — rook to f8
- 24. Qxg6+ — queen to g6 (capture) with check
- Kd8 — king to d8
- 25. Rxd4+ — rook to d4 (capture) with check
- Qxd4 — queen to d4 (capture)
- 26. Rxe2 — rook to e2 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Win the pinned piece
The pinned piece cannot run — attack it again and win it.
A pinned piece cannot flee, which means you can win it outright by attacking it one more time. Count attackers against defenders: if you outnumber them, the piece is yours. The best extra attacker is a pawn, since it costs less than anything it might capture. Do not rush the capture — build up the pressure first, then harvest.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #195.
SP-195 · ThroneGuard — Both knights start on inner files (b–g) while the king sits centrally on d or e — one of 204 positions filed here.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on d1 and g1, the queen on b1.
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.
The pawn on f2 is defended by the king alone — the classic soft spot of the standard setup.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 659.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Morozov Balance Index: 89 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +14 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #195Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 010 · SP-195
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