Winning blow: knight to b6 (a4)
c9-15883naming 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 d1, queen e4, rook a1 g1, bishop e1, knight d2 a4, pawn b2 c2 f2 h2 e3 g4 d5.
Black: king b8, queen h8, rook c8 g8, bishop b5 f8, knight b6, pawn g5 d6 a7 b7 e7 f7 h7.
14 white and 14 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 13.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 35 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on d1, the black king on b8.
It is White to move on move 13, with 40 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 7. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in. Half-open for White: a.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. 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
13. Nxb6 axb6 14. Qb4 Rc5 15. c4 Bg7 16. cxb5
Why it works
- Brilliant! The knight on b6 is a sacrifice that works — you stand better (+2.5).
- queen to b4 develops smoothly.
- A natural move: pawn to c4.
- Best move. pawn to b5 is exactly what the engine plays (+2.6).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead axb6, then Qb4 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 13. Nxb6 — knight to b6 (capture)
- axb6 — pawn to b6 (capture)
- 14. Qb4 — queen to b4
- Rc5 — rook to c5
- 15. c4 — pawn to c4
- Bg7 — bishop to g7
- 16. cxb5 — pawn to b5 (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.
Development punish
Half the army still asleep — the attack breaks through.
Punishing lazy development: half of your opponent's army is asleep on its starting squares, which means you outnumber him where the fight is. Count not the pieces on the board but the pieces in play — if five or more of his pieces have never moved, look for a forcing attack. The sign is a development lead plus open lines toward his king. Strike immediately: give him two quiet moves and the advantage evaporates.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #474.
SP-474 · ThroneGuard — King on a central file (d/e) with both knights on inner files — the classic-type setup.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on a1 and g1, the queen on h1.
Castling ends where it always does: king to g1 and rook to f1 on the short side, king to c1 and rook to d1 on the long one.
The bishops stand on e1 and f1; their long diagonals reach a5 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: b2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 677.
The engine's main line opens with Nc3, bringing the knight out to c3.
Morozov Balance Index: 65 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +22 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #474Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-474
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