Winning blow: king to a1 (b1·16)
c9-08823naming 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 1250 ShuffleRating — club-player level.
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 b1, queen f7, rook d1 e1, bishop b3, pawn a2 b2 f3 h4 c5 d6.
Black: king b8, queen c4, rook g2, bishop f5, knight g6 e7, pawn a5 h5 e6 f6 b7.
11 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 27.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 28 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on b1, the black king on b8.
It is White to move on move 27, with 4 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle. White are in check right now, so every reply must answer the check.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: e.
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
27. Ka1 Qxc5 28. dxe7 Nxe7 29. Qxf6
Why it works
- Great move! king to a1 keeps the pressure (+3.2).
- Spot on — pawn to e7 (+3.3).
- Precise: queen to f6 is the top choice (+3.1).
- You reach a winning position (+3.1).
- If instead Qxc5, then dxe7 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 27. Ka1 — king to a1
- Qxc5 — queen to c5 (capture)
- 28. dxe7 — pawn to e7 (capture)
- Nxe7 — knight to e7 (capture)
- 29. Qxf6 — queen to f6 (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 #540.
SP-540 · ThroneGuard — King on a central file (d/e) with both knights on inner files — the classic-type setup.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on e1.
Castling ends where it always does: king to g1 and rook to f1 on the short side, king to c1 and rook to d1 on the long one.
The bishops stand on b1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a7 once the c- and f-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: b2, g2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 524.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 65 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +22 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #540Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-540
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads