Winning blow: pawn to d5 (c4)
c9-05542naming 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 780 ShuffleRating — for beginners taking their first steps in Chess960 tactics.
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 f1, queen b1, rook d1 g1, bishop c1, knight a1 e1, pawn a2 e2 f2 h2 c3 d3 g3 c4.
Black: king e8, queen b8, rook g6 d8, bishop c8, knight d5 f6, pawn g5 d6 a7 b7 c7 e7 f7 h7.
15 white and 15 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 10.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 36 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on f1, the black king on e8.
It is White to move on move 10, with 35 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 8 pawns, Black 8. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in. Half-open for White: b.
The White king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
10. cxd5 b5 11. Qb3 Bh3+ 12. Ng2
Why it works
- Great move! pawn to d5 keeps the pressure (+3.7).
- queen to b3 develops smoothly.
- A natural move: knight to g2.
- You win a piece — the knight.
- If instead Nxd5, then Qb3 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 10. cxd5 — pawn to d5 (capture)
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.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #119.
SP-119 · BastionScout — King shifted to c or f, with a knight committed to the corner from move one.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on d1 and g1, the queen on b1.
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 h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 834.
The engine's main line opens with c4.
Morozov Balance Index: 97 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +7 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #119Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 002 · SP-119
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