Winning blow: pawn to d8 (d7·2)
c9-10351naming 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 970 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 b2, bishop h2, pawn c3 h3 d7.
Black: king c6, rook g4, knight e1, pawn a5 g6 h7.
5 white and 6 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 31.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 5 points of material (6 against 11; 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 c6.
It is White to move on move 31, with 20 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, e, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, g.
The White king has 6 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
31. d8=Q Rg2+ 32. Kb3 Rxh2 33. Qc8+
Why it works
- Great move! pawn to d8 keeps the pressure (+5.9).
- king to b3 develops smoothly.
- Precise: queen to c8 is the top choice (+6.1).
- You win decisive material (+6.1).
- If instead Rg2+, then Kb3 and you win the pawn.
Move by move
- 31. d8=Q — pawn to d8
Types in this puzzle
Promotion
The pawn reaches the last rank and becomes a queen — decisively.
Promotion turns a pawn on the last rank into a queen and rewrites the evaluation on the spot. In tactics the passer rarely walks in for free — usually a sacrifice clears its path. Count the tempi: how many moves does the pawn need, and can the defender stop it in time? And watch the promotion square itself — it must be out of enemy reach or won by force in your combination.
Only move
Everything else loses — find the only move that holds.
An only move is a position where everything loses except one single continuation. You cannot play "by hand" here: run through fundamentally different defenses — run away, block, trade, counterattack — and discard the ones that fail. The hallmark of these puzzles is that the obvious moves lose quickly while the solution often looks strange. First understand exactly what the threat is — then the one saving move reveals itself.
Promotion race
Both sides push passers — win the race by a tempo.
A promotion race is a sprint between two passed pawns: both sides push toward the last rank, and victory goes to whoever queens first or queens with check. You will recognize it when both players have far-advanced passers that neither king can catch. Count the tempi literally, move by move, all the way to promotion. The classic mistake is spending a tempo on a "useful" move — in a race, almost any non-pawn move loses.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #255.
SP-255 · 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 f1, 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 608.
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 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #255Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 005 · SP-255
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