Attack on the uncastled king: queen to f2 (e1·4)
sf-u-0176naming tag (square·N)The tactical motive
Uncastled king: the enemy king is stuck in the centre — punish it before it castles.
Mate in 3: a forced sequence that ends in checkmate.
Chess960 twist: use the unusual starting setup of the pieces.
Difficulty 1980 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
White to move — find the best continuation
Position on the board
White: king f1, queen e1, rook h1 a2, bishop d1 g3, knight b3, pawn c2 d3 a4 b5 e6 g6.
Black: king f8, rook d8 h8, bishop c7, knight b6, pawn c5 d5 h6 a7 b7 e7 g7.
13 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 22.
Solution & explanation
Main line
22. Qf2+ Bf4 23. Qxf4+ Kg8 24. Qf7#
Why it works
- Great move! queen to f2 keeps the pressure (#2).
- Well found: queen to f4 (#1).
- Precise: queen to f7 is the top choice (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 3.
- If instead Bf4, then Qxf4+ and you win the bishop.
Types in this puzzle
Supported queen mate
The queen delivers mate face to face, protected by a friend.
The supported queen mate is the most common pattern of all: the queen lands next to the king and mates because a friendly piece or pawn protects her. The king is helpless — capturing is impossible, and the queen covers every neighboring square herself. Hunt for a protected square beside the enemy king: a knight, bishop or pawn eyeing it turns her invasion into mate. Verify one thing — that the square really is defended, or the king eats her.
Mate in 3
A forced checkmate in three moves.
Mate in three is a forced staircase: each of your moves narrows the opponent's choices, and the third one ends the game. Look for the start among checks and sacrifices — quiet first moves are rare in mating problems, but deliciously sneaky. Keep the tree in your head: every defense gets its own branch. Do not stop calculating after move two — see the final mating picture with your own eyes.
Uncastled king
The king lingered in the middle — punish the delay.
Punishing the uncastled king: your opponent delayed castling, and now his king is stuck on its starting square under fire. In Chess960 this is deadlier than in classical chess — the king may start in the center or near the edge, and the familiar defensive setups simply do not apply. The signs: the victim still holds castling rights, and the files toward his king are half-open. Open lines before the king manages to hide.
Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 014
Similar puzzles
Free, no ads · Android 8.0+ · coming soon to Google Play