Winning blow: pawn to d7 (d6·18)
c9-12389naming 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 2060 ShuffleRating — expert level — few solve it at first try.
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 a1, queen f2, rook d3, bishop h3, knight e8, pawn h2 d6.
Black: king b8, bishop b3, knight c6, pawn a4 e5 f5 h5 b7.
7 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 39.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 11 points of material (22 against 11; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on a1, the black king on b8.
It is White to move on move 39, with 38 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 2 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, b, e, f.
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
39. d7 Nd4 40. d8=Q+ Ka7 41. Qa5+
Why it works
- Sensible development: pawn to d7.
- Spot on — pawn to d8 (#3).
- Precise: queen to a5 is the top choice (#3).
- You win decisive material (+15.0).
- If instead Nd8, then Qb6 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 39. d7 — pawn to d7
Types in this puzzle
Quiet move
No check, no capture — yet this modest move decides the game.
A quiet move gives no check and takes nothing — yet it decides the game by creating an unstoppable threat or stealing the king's last square. This is the hardest class of moves: the eye hunts for loud blows while a modest shift does the winning. The clue: every forcing try runs into a defense, so seek the move that strengthens the threat or takes squares away. Train yourself to ask: what if I neither capture nor check, but quietly improve?
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 015 · SP-841
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