Winning blow: king to d2 (c2·4)
c9-12349naming 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 c2, queen h2, rook b1 g1, bishop g2 d8, knight b3 d3, pawn a2 b2 f2 e3 h4 c5 g5.
Black: king c8, queen c4, rook g8, bishop f7 f8, knight a8 e8, pawn f5 c6 d6 g6 a7 b7 h7.
15 white and 14 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 15.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 5 points of material (38 against 33; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on c2, the black king on c8.
It is White to move on move 15, 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 7 pawns, Black 7. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in. Half-open for White: 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
15. Kd2 Qa4 16. Rbc1 Kxd8 17. Qf4
Why it works
- Great move! king to d2 keeps the pressure (+2.8).
- Spot on — rook to c1 (+2.8).
- A natural move: queen to f4.
- You reach a winning position (+2.9).
- If instead Kxd8, then Rbc1 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 15. Kd2 — king to d2
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 #186.
SP-186 · ThroneScout — King on a central file (d/e) with a knight starting on the rim (a/h).
The king starts on d1, the rooks on b1 and g1, the queen on h1.
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 e1 and f1; their long diagonals reach a5 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 773.
The engine's main line opens with d4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 61 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +23 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #186Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 005 · SP-186
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