Winning blow: king to f1 (e1·23)
c9-27577naming 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 e1, queen d7, rook g1, pawn a2 e2 f2 d3 g3 c7.
Black: king f8, queen c3, rook b8, bishop c1, pawn f5 g5 e7.
9 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 23.
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 e1, the black king on f8.
It is White to move on move 23, with 2 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 6 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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 Re8 24. Rh1 Bb2 25. Qxf5+ Kg8 26. Qxg5+
Why it works
- Great move! king to f1 keeps the pressure (+5.5).
- rook to h1 develops smoothly.
- Precise: queen to f5 is the top choice (+7.8).
- Best move. queen to g5 is exactly what the engine plays (+6.3).
- You win decisive material (+6.3).
- If instead Re8, then Rh1 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 23. Kf1 — king to f1
- Re8 — rook to e8
- 24. Rh1 — rook to h1
- Bb2 — bishop to b2
- 25. Qxf5+ — queen to f5 (capture) with check
- Kg8 — king to g8
- 26. Qxg5+ — queen to g5 (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 #184.
SP-184 · BastionScout — A knight on the a- or h-file, king on c or f — the mirror twin lands here as well.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on c1 and g1, the queen on h1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
The bishops stand on b1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a5 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
The pawn on e2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 781.
The engine's main line opens with c4.
Morozov Balance Index: 28 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +33 centipawns for White (depth 49, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #184Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 010 · SP-184
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