Winning blow: queen to h3 (g4·3)
sf-t-0191naming tag (square·N)Opens in the app if installed, otherwise downloads the APK.
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 1470 ShuffleRating — club-player level.
White to move — find the best continuation
How to recognize this tactic
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.
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.
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 g4, rook d1 f1, bishop f2, knight b1 c1, pawn g2 h2 b3 f3 b4 c4.
Black: king f7, queen a8, rook e7 d8, bishop f8, knight f5, pawn d5 h5 b6 g6 a7 c7.
13 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 19.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 3 points of material (34 against 31; 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 f7.
It is White to move on move 19, with 37 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, d.
The White king has 1 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
19. Qh3 dxc4 20. bxc4 Rxd1 21. Rxd1
Why it works
- Great move! queen to h3 keeps the pressure (+3.5).
- Spot on — pawn to c4 (+3.4).
- Strong! rook to d1 is the sharp choice (+3.6).
- You reach a winning position (+3.6).
- If instead dxc4, then bxc4 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 19. Qh3 — queen to h3
Types in this puzzle
Quiet move
No check, no capture — yet this modest move decides the game.
A quiet move gives no check and takes nothing — yet it decides the game by creating an unstoppable threat or stealing the king's last square. This is the hardest class of moves: the eye hunts for loud blows while a modest shift does the winning. The clue: every forcing try runs into a defense, so seek the move that strengthens the threat or takes squares away. Train yourself to ask: what if I neither capture nor check, but quietly improve?
Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 011
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