Winning blow: queen to c7 (c2·2)
c9-14161naming 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 1290 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 c2, rook a2, bishop f4, knight c1, pawn g2 b3 f3 d4 h4.
Black: king d7, queen b5, rook f1, bishop b4, pawn d3 d5 h5 a6 f6 a7 g7.
10 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 30.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (25 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 b1, the black king on d7.
It is White to move on move 30, with 32 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 7. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a.
The White king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
30. Qc7+ Ke6 31. Qc8+ Kf7 32. Rxa6
Why it works
- Great move! queen to c7 keeps the pressure (+1.3).
- Spot on — queen to c8 (+0.6).
- Precise: rook to a6 is the top choice (+1.2).
- You reach a winning position (+1.2).
- If instead Ke6, then Qc8+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 30. Qc7+ — queen to c7 with check
- Ke6 — king to e6
- 31. Qc8+ — queen to c8 with check
- Kf7 — king to f7
- 32. Rxa6 — rook to a6 (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 #717.
SP-717 · RampartGuard — King pushed to the b- or g-file, knights off the edges — 144 positions here.
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on c1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 440.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
Morozov Balance Index: 18 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +38 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #717Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 009 · SP-717
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