Winning blow: king to c4 (b5)
c9-11344naming 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 b5, queen c6, pawn h2 g3 a4 f4 c5.
Black: king c8, rook a8 b8, pawn f5 h5 c7.
7 white and 6 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 34.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (14 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 b5, the black king on c8.
It is White to move on move 34, with 3 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 5 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, d, e — 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
34. Kc4 Ra5 35. Qe6+ Kb7 36. Qd5+ Ka7 37. Qxf5
Why it works
- Great move! king to c4 keeps the pressure (+3.1).
- Spot on — queen to e6 (+3.3).
- Precise: queen to d5 is the top choice (+3.6).
- Best move. queen to f5 is exactly what the engine plays (+3.6).
- You reach a winning position (+3.6).
- If instead Ra5, then Qe6+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 34. Kc4 — king to c4
- Ra5 — rook to a5
- 35. Qe6+ — queen to e6 with check
- Kb7 — king to b7
- 36. Qd5+ — queen to d5 with check
- Ka7 — king to a7
- 37. Qxf5 — queen to f5 (capture)
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.
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.
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 #841.
SP-841 · RampartScout — A wing-file king (b or g) and at least one corner knight: the rarest of the six families, just 72 positions.
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and f1, the queen on g1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on d1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a5 once the e- and d-pawns step aside.
The pawn on b2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the RampartScout family; read right to left it becomes position 121.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 59 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +24 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #841Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 010 · SP-841
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