Winning blow: king to a2 (b1)
c9-11070naming 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 b1, queen d1, rook h1, bishop a1 f1, knight g1 e5, pawn d2 g2 h2 f3 c4 a5 f5.
Black: king c8, queen b4, rook h6, bishop a3 a8, knight e8 g8, pawn a4 h5 c7 d7 g7.
14 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 12.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 2 points of material (33 against 31; 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 c8.
It is White to move on move 12, with 4 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 7 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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
12. Ka2 Rd6 13. d4 Qxa5 14. Kxa3
Why it works
- Great move! king to a2 keeps the pressure (+2.1).
- Spot on — pawn to d4 (+1.8).
- Precise: king to a3 is the top choice (+1.9).
- You reach a winning position (+1.9).
- If instead Rd6, then d4 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 12. Ka2 — king to a2
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 #706.
SP-706 · BastionGuard — Both knights begin inside the board while the king stands on c or f; a position and its mirror twin share this family.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and h1, 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 a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, f2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 439.
The engine's main line opens with Ngf3, bringing the knight out to f3.
Morozov Balance Index: 59 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +24 centipawns for White (depth 42, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #706Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 005 · SP-706
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