Winning blow: queen to h3 (g4·3)
sf-t-0191naming 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 1470 ShuffleRating — club-player level.
White to move — find the best continuation
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.
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.
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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