Winning blow: pawn to g4 (g3·5)
c9-27868naming 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 b2, rook b1 h4, pawn h2 e3 g3 f4.
Black: king f5, queen e7, rook a7 d8, bishop b7, pawn g6 f7.
8 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 35.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 1 points of material (23 against 24; 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 f5.
It is White to move on move 35, with 36 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 2. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, b, c, d — 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
35. g4+ Ke6 36. Qe5+ Kd7 37. Qd4+ Kc8 38. Qxa7
Why it works
- Great move! pawn to g4 keeps the pressure (+5.3).
- Well found: queen to e5 (+5.8).
- Precise: queen to d4 is the top choice (+4.2).
- Great move! queen to a7 keeps the pressure (+4.0).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Ke6, then Qe5+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 35. g4+ — pawn to g4 with check
- Ke6 — king to e6
- 36. Qe5+ — queen to e5 with check
- Kd7 — king to d7
- 37. Qd4+ — queen to d4 with check
- Kc8 — king to c8
- 38. Qxa7 — queen to a7 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Royal fork
A fork with check: the king must move, and the second piece is lost.
A royal fork is a fork with check — one of the two targets is the king itself. The check must be answered first, so nobody is left to rescue the second piece. Look for squares where your piece gives check and simultaneously attacks an undefended queen or rook. It is the most reliable fork of all, because your opponent literally has no choice.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #611.
SP-611 · ThroneGuard — King home on d or e, knights kept off the a- and h-files — the family of the standard starting array.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on b1 and f1, the queen on d1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 243.
The engine's main line opens with g3.
Morozov Balance Index: 86 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +15 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #611Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-611
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