Winning blow: king to b1 (c1·38)
c9-15750naming 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 1470 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 c1, queen b3, rook d1, bishop h1, knight a1 d8, pawn c2 d2 f5.
Black: king c8, queen h2, bishop b2, knight c4 e8, pawn d5 b7 c7 e7.
9 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 16.
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 c1, the black king on c8.
It is White to move on move 16, 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 3 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, g, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b, e.
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
16. Kb1 Nxd2+ 17. Rxd2 Qxd2 18. Qxb7+
Why it works
- Great move! king to b1 keeps the pressure (+3.1).
- Well found: rook to d2 (+3.2).
- Precise: queen to b7 is the top choice (+3.2).
- You reach a winning position (+3.2).
- If instead Nxd2+, then Rxd2 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 16. Kb1 — king to b1
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 #383.
SP-383 · BastionScout — King shifted to c or f, with a knight committed to the corner from move one.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and d1, the queen on f1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
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 288.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 26 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +34 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #383Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 011 · SP-383
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