Winning blow: king to d1 (c1·16)
c9-10352naming 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 1390 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 c1, rook a7 c7, knight d7, pawn g2 h2 f3.
Black: king e7, rook b2, knight e5, pawn d2 f4 b7 g7 h7.
7 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 35.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 3 points of material (16 against 13; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on c1, the black king on e7.
It is White to move on move 35, with 2 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 3 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, c, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b, d.
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
35. Kd1 Nxd7 36. Rcxb7 Rxb7 37. Rxb7 Ke6 38. Kxd2
Why it works
- Great move! king to d1 keeps the pressure (+4.1).
- Spot on — rook to b7 (+4.4).
- Strong! rook to b7 is the sharp choice (+4.4).
- Best move. king to d2 is exactly what the engine plays (+4.6).
- You reach a winning position (+4.6).
- If instead Nxd7, then Rcxb7 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 35. Kd1 — king to d1
- Nxd7 — knight to d7 (capture)
- 36. Rcxb7 — rook to b7 (capture)
- Rxb7 — rook to b7 (capture)
- 37. Rxb7 — rook to b7 (capture)
- Ke6 — king to e6
- 38. Kxd2 — king to d2 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Decoy
A sacrifice lures the king or a piece onto a fatal square.
A decoy is the mirror image of deflection: you sacrifice to drag the king or a piece onto a fatal square. The classic is a queen or rook sac whose capture pulls the king into a knight fork, a discovered check or mate. Find the square where the target will be hit, then find the offer it cannot refuse. Calculate to the very end — a decoy only works when the follow-up is forced.
King march
In the endgame the king is a fighting piece — march it in.
The king march: in the endgame the king is a fighting piece, and often it is his journey forward that wins. It is time to march when the queens are off and checks hold no danger — the king attacks pawns, escorts the passer, takes squares away. The telltale sign of the theme is several king moves in a row. Plan the full route in advance using the rule of the square, and do not let the enemy king grab the opposition.
King evacuation
The king walks out of the danger zone on its own feet.
King evacuation: when the shelter collapses, the king walks out of the attack on his own feet — sometimes across half the board. A series of precise king moves carries him out of the firing zone, and the enemy attack dissolves. The signs: no direct defense works, but there is a route over unattacked squares to a quiet corner. Calculate the entire journey in advance — a king stranded halfway usually dies there.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #358.
SP-358 · ThroneScout — A knight starts on the edge (a/h) and the king sits centrally on d or e; the mirror twin stays in this family too.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on b1 and e1, the queen on g1.
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 c1 and f1; their long diagonals reach h6 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 310.
The engine's main line opens with f3.
Morozov Balance Index: 7 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +46 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #358Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 010 · SP-358
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