Winning blow: queen to c6 (b5·4)
c9-12976naming 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 b1, queen b5, bishop a5, knight c5, pawn b2 g2 e3 f4 h4.
Black: king a7, queen h7, rook c6 d7, bishop f6, pawn g4 f5 h5 e6.
9 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 26.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 6 points of material (20 against 26; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on b1, the black king on a7.
It is White to move on move 26, with 35 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, c, d — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
The White king has 4 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
26. Qxc6 Rb7 27. b4 Bc3 28. Nxb7 Qxb7 29. Qxc3
Why it works
- Great move! queen to c6 keeps the pressure (+4.8).
- pawn to b4 develops smoothly.
- Precise: knight to b7 is the top choice (+5.8).
- Best move. queen to c3 is exactly what the engine plays (+5.8).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Rb7, then b4 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 26. Qxc6 — queen to c6 (capture)
- Rb7 — rook to b7
- 27. b4 — pawn to b4
- Bc3 — bishop to c3
- 28. Nxb7 — knight to b7 (capture)
- Qxb7 — queen to b7 (capture)
- 29. Qxc3 — queen to c3 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Clearance
Clear your own piece out of the way — with tempo — for the decisive blow.
Clearance is about your own piece standing in the way of the decisive blow — so you move it aside, or even throw it away. The key is to clear with tempo: jump off with a check, a capture or a threat, giving the opponent no time to regroup. The telltale sign: you see a crushing queen or rook move, but one of your own pieces blocks the line or occupies the square. Do not cling to it — a clearance sacrifice usually costs less than a missed attack.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #761.
SP-761 · RampartGuard — A wing king (b/g) with no knight on the a- or h-file.
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and g1, the queen on h1.
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 RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 393.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
Morozov Balance Index: 69 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +21 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #761Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-761
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