Winning blow: king to a2 (b1·12)
c9-15679naming 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 970 ShuffleRating — for beginners taking their first steps in Chess960 tactics.
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 b6, rook g3 e7, knight b4, pawn b2 c2 h2 a3.
Black: king a8, queen f1, rook a7 c8, pawn a4 h5 b7.
9 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 34.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 4 points of material (26 against 22; 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 a8.
It is White to move on move 34, with 2 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle. White are in check right now, so every reply must answer the check.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, e, f, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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
34. Ka2 Qc4+ 35. b3 axb3+ 36. Rxb3
Why it works
- Great move! king to a2 keeps the pressure (+6.2).
- pawn to b3 develops smoothly.
- Strong! rook to b3 is the sharp choice (+7.1).
- You win decisive material (+7.1).
- If instead Qc4+, then b3 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 34. Ka2 — king to a2
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 #741.
SP-741 · 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 g1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on c1 and d1; their long diagonals reach h6 and h5 once the d- and e-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 410.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
Morozov Balance Index: 59 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +24 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #741Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 005 · SP-741
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