Winning blow: queen to g1 (f2·2)
sf-t-0146naming tag (square·N)The tactical motive
Winning tactic: there is a move that gains a decisive advantage — find it.
Chess960 twist: use the unusual starting setup of the pieces.
Difficulty 1200 ShuffleRating — club-player level.
White to move — find the best continuation
Position on the board
White: king f1, queen f2, rook c1, bishop a1 a8, knight d1 d5, pawn g2 a3 f3 b4 c4 e4 h4.
Black: king g8, queen h1, rook g6, bishop f8, knight c6 f7, pawn f4 e5 h5 b6 a7 d7 g7.
14 white and 13 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 20.
Solution & explanation
Main line
20. Qg1 Qxh4 21. Nf2 Qd8 22. Bb7
Why it works
- Great move! queen to g1 keeps the pressure (+2.9).
- knight to f2 develops smoothly.
- A natural move: bishop to b7.
- You reach a winning position (+2.8).
- If instead Qxh4, then Nf2 and you stay on top.
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.
Blocking save
Block the check with tempo — and turn the game around.
The blocking save: you interpose a piece against the check — not passively, but with tempo, so the blocker creates a threat of its own. Such a block turns defense into attack. Whenever you are checked, compare all three replies — capture, move the king, interpose — and among the interpositions hunt for the one that counterattacks. The mistake is automatically stepping aside with the king when an active block would have turned the game around.
Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 008
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