Chess960 tactic on g7 (c7)
c9-11251naming tag (square·N)The tactical motive
Chess960 twist: use the unusual starting setup of the pieces.
Mate: a forcing sequence that ends the game — the king has no escape.
Mate in 4: a forced checkmate in four moves — every reply is covered.
Difficulty 2400 ShuffleRating — expert level — few solve it at first try.
White to move — find the best continuation
Position on the board
White: king d2, queen c7, bishop g2, pawn a2 c3 h4.
Black: king e8, pawn g3 a4 b6 e6.
6 white and 5 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 41.
Solution & explanation
Main line
41. Qg7 Kd8 42. Bc6 Kc8 43. Qd7+ Kb8 44. Qb7#
Why it works
- Sensible development: queen to g7.
- bishop to c6 develops smoothly.
- Precise: queen to d7 is the top choice (#1).
- Best move. queen to b7 is exactly what the engine plays (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 4.
- If instead Kd8, then Bc6 and you stay on top.
Types in this puzzle
Supported queen mate
The queen delivers mate face to face, protected by a friend.
The supported queen mate is the most common pattern of all: the queen lands next to the king and mates because a friendly piece or pawn protects her. The king is helpless — capturing is impossible, and the queen covers every neighboring square herself. Hunt for a protected square beside the enemy king: a knight, bishop or pawn eyeing it turns her invasion into mate. Verify one thing — that the square really is defended, or the king eats her.
Mate in 4+
A long forced mating combination.
Mate in four or longer is a marathon of forcing moves where the grip must never loosen. The tools are the same: checks, double threats and sacrifices that deny the opponent a single free tempo. Do not juggle the whole tree at once — walk the main line all the way to mate first, then verify the side branches. If somewhere the defender finds one quiet move that holds, your very first move was wrong.
Queen endgame
Queens on an open board — precision above all.
Queen endgames are treacherous: the queen reaches everywhere, and one slip turns a win into perpetual check. The signs are few pawns, exposed kings, and checks hanging in the air. Tuck your king away early, and use your own checks to bring the queen closer or push your passer with tempo. The typical mistake is grabbing pawns while leaving your king exposed to endless checks.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #285.
SP-285 · 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 h1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
The bishops stand on d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
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 584.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
Morozov Balance Index: 78 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +18 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #285Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 015 · SP-285
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