Winning blow: queen to c5 (e3·3)
c9-13153naming 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 1510 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 a2, queen e3, rook d1 g1, bishop c4, knight c2, pawn c3 h3.
Black: king h8, queen f6, rook c8, knight c5, pawn a4 b7 h7.
8 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 33.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 7 points of material (27 against 20; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on a2, the black king on h8.
It is White to move on move 33, with 60 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 2 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, e, f, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, b.
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
33. Qxc5 Re8 34. Qd5 Qg7 35. Rxg7
Why it works
- Great move! queen to c5 keeps the pressure (#5).
- queen to d5 develops smoothly.
- Precise: rook to g7 is the top choice (#3).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Re8, then Qd5 and you win the knight.
Move by move
- 33. Qxc5 — queen to c5 (capture)
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 #159.
SP-159 · ThroneScout — Centre-file king, rim knight: 204 of the 960 positions share this pattern.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on b1 and f1, the queen on d1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
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 800.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 51 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +26 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #159Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 011 · SP-159
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