Winning blow: pawn to e6 (e5·11)
c9-28231naming 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 1700 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
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 f7, rook f1, pawn e2 h2 d3 g3 c4 e5.
Black: king d7, queen c8, rook d2, bishop d8, pawn c5 b6 g6 e7 h7.
9 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 28.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 2 points of material (20 against 22; 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 d7.
It is White to move on move 28, with 34 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b.
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
28. e6+ Kc6 29. Qf3+ Kc7 30. Qf4+ Kc6 31. Qxd2
Why it works
- Great move! pawn to e6 keeps the pressure (+3.8).
- Spot on — queen to f3 (+4.0).
- Precise: queen to f4 is the top choice (+4.0).
- Best move. queen to d2 is exactly what the engine plays (+4.4).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kc6, then Qf3+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 28. e6+ — pawn to e6 with check
- Kc6 — king to c6
- 29. Qf3+ — queen to f3 with check
- Kc7 — king to c7
- 30. Qf4+ — queen to f4 with check
- Kc6 — king to c6
- 31. Qxd2 — queen to d2 (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 #189.
SP-189 · ThroneScout — Centre-file king, rim knight: 204 of the 960 positions share this pattern.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on b1 and f1, the queen on h1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
The bishops stand on d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
The pawn on d2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 776.
The engine's main line opens with Nab3, bringing the knight out to b3.
Morozov Balance Index: 61 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +23 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #189Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 013 · SP-189
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