Winning blow: queen to d5 (e6·3)
c9-09596naming 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 1870 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
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 e6, rook d8, bishop h1, knight e4, pawn b2.
Black: king a5, queen f2, bishop g6, pawn f3 g4 b7 h7.
6 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 32.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 5 points of material (21 against 16; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on b1, the black king on a5.
It is White to move on move 32, with 40 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 1 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, c, d, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: f, g, 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
32. Qd5+ Ka6 33. Ra8+ Kb6 34. Qd6+
Why it works
- Best move. queen to d5 is exactly what the engine plays (#7).
- Spot on — rook to a8 (#5).
- Precise: queen to d6 is the top choice (#7).
- You win decisive material (+15.0).
- If instead Ka6, then Ra8+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 32. Qd5+ — queen to d5 with check
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 #731.
SP-731 · RampartGuard — A wing king (b/g) with no knight on the a- or h-file.
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and g1, the queen on d1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
The pawn on b2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 417.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
Morozov Balance Index: 34 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +31 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #731Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 014 · SP-731
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