Winning blow: king to c1 (c2·2)
c9-14680naming tag (square·N)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 970 ShuffleRating — for beginners taking their first steps in Chess960 tactics.
White to move — find the best continuation
Position on the board
White: king c2, queen a7, rook e1 f1, knight a5, pawn d2 h2 b3.
Black: king e7, queen e2, bishop e4, knight b6, pawn f5 c7 d7 h7.
8 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 27.
Solution & explanation
Main line
27. Kc1 Qb5 28. Rxf5 Qxf5 29. Qxc7
Why it works
- Great move! king to c1 keeps the pressure (+4.8).
- Spot on — rook to f5 (+4.9).
- Strong! queen to c7 is the sharp choice (+5.0).
- You reach a winning position (+5.0).
- If instead Qd3, then Rxe4+ and you win the bishop.
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 #382.
SP-382 · BastionScout — A knight on the a- or h-file, king on c or f — the mirror twin lands here as well.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and d1, the queen on h1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
The bishops stand on f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
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 292.
The engine's main line opens with c3.
Morozov Balance Index: 43 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +28 centipawns for White (depth 41, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #382Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 005 · SP-382
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