Winning blow: king to d2 (e1·16)
c9-10624naming 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 e1, queen c1, rook h1 d5, bishop a3 f3, knight b1 a5, pawn a2 b2 e2 f2 c5 h7.
Black: king f8, queen h3, rook g1 g7, bishop e8 h8, knight a6 a8, pawn c4 a7 e7 f7.
14 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 20.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 2 points of material (37 against 35; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on e1, the black king on f8.
It is White to move on move 20, 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 6 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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
20. Kd2 Qxh1 21. Bxh1 Rxc1 22. Kxc1
Why it works
- Great move! king to d2 keeps the pressure (+1.9).
- A brilliant blow: bishop to h1, and you stand better (+1.7).
- Strong! king to c1 is the sharp choice (+1.9).
- You reach a winning position (+1.9).
- If instead Qxh1, then Bxh1 and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 20. Kd2 — king to d2
- Qxh1 — queen to h1 (capture)
- 21. Bxh1 — bishop to h1 (capture)
- Rxc1 — rook to c1 (capture)
- 22. Kxc1 — king to c1 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Discovered attack
A piece steps aside and opens a second attack from the piece behind it.
A discovered attack works like a curtain: one piece steps off the line and unveils the long-range piece behind it. The beauty is that the moving piece can create a second threat of its own — two attacks in one move. Look for your stacked pairs: a bishop or rook behind a knight or pawn, aimed through them at something valuable. Send the front piece to the most aggressive square — a discovery without a second threat wastes half its power.
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 #43.
SP-43 · BastionScout — A c- or f-file king with at least one knight out on the edge.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on d1 and g1, the queen on c1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 913.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Morozov Balance Index: 86 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +15 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #43Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-43
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