Winning blow: queen to d5 (e4)
c9-09585naming 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 1200 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 b2, queen e4, rook a1, bishop f3, knight b3 c4, pawn c3 e3 d4 f5.
Black: king c8, queen f6, rook a7 f8, bishop h8, pawn b5 c5 d5 b7 e7 h7.
10 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 23.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 1 points of material (27 against 28; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on b2, the black king on c8.
It is White to move on move 23, with 43 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b, h.
The White king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
23. Qxd5 Qxf5 24. Rxa7 Qxd5 25. Nb6+ Kc7 26. Bxd5
Why it works
- Great move! queen to d5 keeps the pressure (+6.2).
- Spot on — rook to a7 (+6.5).
- Precise: knight to b6 is the top choice (+6.7).
- Great move! bishop to d5 keeps the pressure (+6.6).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Qxf5, then Rxa7 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 23. Qxd5 — queen to d5 (capture)
- Qxf5 — queen to f5 (capture)
- 24. Rxa7 — rook to a7 (capture)
- Qxd5 — queen to d5 (capture)
- 25. Nb6+ — knight to b6 with check
- Kc7 — king to c7
- 26. Bxd5 — bishop to d5 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Royal fork
A fork with check: the king must move, and the second piece is lost.
A royal fork is a fork with check — one of the two targets is the king itself. The check must be answered first, so nobody is left to rescue the second piece. Look for squares where your piece gives check and simultaneously attacks an undefended queen or rook. It is the most reliable fork of all, because your opponent literally has no choice.
Counter-strike
Don't defend — answer the threat with a bigger one.
The counter-strike: instead of defending against the threat, you answer with a bigger threat of your own. While your opponent grabs a pawn, you deliver mate — the arithmetic favors you. Look for a counter when direct defenses fail: do you have a check, an attack on the queen, a mating threat? The beginner's error is meeting every threat with a reflexive defense without checking the counterattacking resources first.
Winning exchange
A forced series of captures on one square ends in your favour.
A winning exchange is a forced series of captures on one square that leaves you ahead in material. It is pure arithmetic: count the attackers and defenders of the square and note the value of every piece in the queue. Capture in the right order — cheap pieces first, expensive ones later — or a winning trade turns into a losing one. The classic error is stopping the count halfway and missing the opponent's final recapture.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #351.
SP-351 · BastionScout — Off-centre king plus a rim knight (a/h): 168 positions carry this shape.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and e1, the queen on d1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
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: a2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 320.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 83 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +16 centipawns for White (depth 42, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #351Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 007 · SP-351
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