Winning blow: queen to e5 (d5·5)
c9-28255naming 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 g2, queen d5, rook e2, pawn f3 g5 g6.
Black: king h8, queen b1, rook f8, pawn e3 a5 c5 h7.
6 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 34.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 1 points of material (17 against 18; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g2, the black king on h8.
It is White to move on move 34, with 33 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, d — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, c, e, h.
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
34. Qe5+ Kg8 35. Qe6+ Kg7 36. Qe7+ Kxg6 37. Qxf8
Why it works
- Great move! queen to e5 keeps the pressure (+6.2).
- Well found: queen to e6 (+6.3).
- Strong! queen to e7 is the sharp choice (+6.8).
- Great move! queen to f8 keeps the pressure (+6.8).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kg8, then Qe6+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 34. Qe5+ — queen to e5 with check
- Kg8 — king to g8
- 35. Qe6+ — queen to e6 with check
- Kg7 — king to g7
- 36. Qe7+ — queen to e7 with check
- Kxg6 — king to g6 (capture)
- 37. Qxf8 — queen to f8 (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.
Deflection
Force the defender away from its duty — then strike what it guarded.
Deflection forces the guard to leave its post: a sacrifice or exchange drags it away from the piece or square it protects. First find the critical defender — the piece whose absence makes the mate or the material win possible. Then find the move it cannot ignore, which is usually a capture. Do not be stingy: if removing the guard wins the queen or mates, the sacrifice pays for itself many times over.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #403.
SP-403 · BastionGuard — The king starts one file off-centre, on c or f, with neither knight in a corner.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on b1 and g1, the queen on c1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 739.
The engine's main line opens with g3.
Morozov Balance Index: 83 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +16 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #403Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 013 · SP-403
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