Winning blow: queen to a2 (c2)
c9-12751naming 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 1200 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 e1, queen c2, rook b5, pawn g2 h2 f3 d4.
Black: king d8, rook c8, bishop a2, knight a3, pawn a5 f5 f6 g6 d7 h7.
7 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 26.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (18 against 17; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on e1, the black king on d8.
It is White to move on move 26, with 42 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, c, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a.
The White king has 5 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
26. Qxa2 Nxb5 27. Qg8+ Kc7 28. Qc4+ Kd8 29. Qxb5
Why it works
- Great move! queen to a2 keeps the pressure (+4.8).
- Well found: queen to g8 (+4.9).
- Strong! queen to c4 is the sharp choice (+4.8).
- Best move. queen to b5 is exactly what the engine plays (+4.9).
- You reach a winning position (+4.9).
- If instead Nxb5, then Qg8+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 26. Qxa2 — queen to a2 (capture)
- Nxb5 — knight to b5 (capture)
- 27. Qg8+ — queen to g8 with check
- Kc7 — king to c7
- 28. Qc4+ — queen to c4 with check
- Kd8 — king to d8
- 29. Qxb5 — queen to b5 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Royal fork
A fork with check: the king must move, and the second piece is lost.
A royal fork is a fork with check — one of the two targets is the king itself. The check must be answered first, so nobody is left to rescue the second piece. Look for squares where your piece gives check and simultaneously attacks an undefended queen or rook. It is the most reliable fork of all, because your opponent literally has no choice.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #892.
SP-892 · ThroneScout — A knight starts on the edge (a/h) and the king sits centrally on d or e; the mirror twin stays in this family too.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on a1 and e1, the queen on c1.
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 b1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a7 once the c- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: g2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 76.
The engine's main line opens with Nhg3, bringing the knight out to g3.
Morozov Balance Index: 55 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +25 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #892Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-892
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