Winning blow: queen to c7 (h2·3)
c9-12776naming 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.
Mate in 4: a forced checkmate in four moves — every reply is covered.
Winning tactic: there is a move that gains a decisive advantage — find it.
Difficulty 2400 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.
A mate in four is a longer forced net: each of your moves is a check or an irresistible threat, and the king is driven step by step to a square where it is finally trapped. Verify that the defender has exactly one reply at every branch.
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 g2, queen h2, rook e1 f2, knight b3 b5, pawn a2 c2 d2 e3.
Black: king e8, knight c6, pawn c5 g5 h5 f7.
10 white and 6 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 26.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 22 points of material (29 against 7; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g2, the black king on e8.
It is White to move on move 26, with 50 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: f, g, h.
The White king has 6 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
26. Qc7 Ne5 27. Nd6+ Kf8 28. Rxf7+ Kg8 29. Qd8#
Why it works
- Sensible development: queen to c7.
- Spot on — knight to d6 (#2).
- Precise: rook to f7 is the top choice (#1).
- Best move. queen to d8 is exactly what the engine plays (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 4.
- If instead Ne5, then Nd6+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 26. Qc7 — queen to c7
- Ne5 — knight to e5
- 27. Nd6+ — knight to d6 with check
- Kf8 — king to f8
- 28. Rxf7+ — rook to f7 (capture) with check
- Kg8 — king to g8
- 29. Qd8# — queen to d8 and it is checkmate
Types in this puzzle
Ladder mate
Two heavy pieces climb line by line, cutting off every retreat.
The ladder mate uses two heavy pieces climbing rung by rung: one cuts the king off along a line, the other checks on the next line, driving him toward the edge. It is the classic two-rook technique — check, the king retreats one rank, the other rook checks, until mate on the last rank. The only danger is the king creeping close enough to attack one of your rooks. If it does, simply slide that rook to the far side of the same line.
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.
Win the pinned piece
The pinned piece cannot run — attack it again and win it.
A pinned piece cannot flee, which means you can win it outright by attacking it one more time. Count attackers against defenders: if you outnumber them, the piece is yours. The best extra attacker is a pawn, since it costs less than anything it might capture. Do not rush the capture — build up the pressure first, then harvest.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #3.
SP-3 · BastionGuard — King shifted to c or f, knights kept clear of the edges — 168 positions in all.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on e1 and g1, the queen on b1.
Castling short simply swaps the two pieces: the king on f1 and the rook on g1 trade places.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: d2, h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 947.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Morozov Balance Index: 72 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +20 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #3Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 015 · SP-3
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