Winning blow: king to b1 (a2·7)
c9-13685naming 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 a2, queen f5, bishop a3 h3, pawn c2 d2 h2 f3 g3.
Black: king d8, rook b1 b8, bishop a8 f8, knight f6, pawn b5 c6 d6 g7 h7.
9 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 26.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 4 points of material (20 against 24; 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 d8.
It is White to move on move 26, with 31 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b.
The White king has 1 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
26. Kxb1 Kc7 27. Bb2 c5 28. Bxf6 gxf6 29. Qxh7+
Why it works
- Great move! king to b1 keeps the pressure (+4.6).
- bishop to b2 develops smoothly.
- Precise: bishop to f6 is the top choice (+4.4).
- Best move. queen to h7 is exactly what the engine plays (+4.5).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kc7, then Bb2 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 26. Kxb1 — king to b1 (capture)
- Kc7 — king to c7
- 27. Bb2 — bishop to b2
- c5 — pawn to c5
- 28. Bxf6 — bishop to f6 (capture)
- gxf6 — pawn to f6 (capture)
- 29. Qxh7+ — queen to h7 (capture) with check
Types in this puzzle
Remove the defender
Capture the guard first — then take what it protected.
Removing the defender is the straightforward plan: capture the guard first, then take what it guarded. Unlike deflection, the defender is not lured away — it is traded off or destroyed on the spot. Stare at the target you crave and ask who defends it, and whether that defender can be profitably eaten. Count the whole capture sequence, not just the first move — the trade must pay off at the end.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #930.
SP-930 · BastionScout — King off-centre on c or f with a knight starting on the rim (a/h).
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and d1, the queen on g1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 23.
The engine's main line opens with f3.
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 #930Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-930
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