Winning blow: queen to c6 (f6)
c9-15925naming 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 1510 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 f6, rook g1 d7, bishop h1 c3, pawn b2 c2 h2 g4 e7.
Black: king a7, queen a2, rook e8 g8, knight a6, pawn g5 c6 b7 h7.
11 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 21.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 4 points of material (30 against 26; 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 a7.
It is White to move on move 21, with 48 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, d, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
White 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
21. Qxc6 Qa1+ 22. Kd2 Qe1+ 23. Rxe1
Why it works
- Best move. queen to c6 is exactly what the engine plays (#4).
- king to d2 develops smoothly.
- Precise: rook to e1 is the top choice (#2).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Qa1+, then Kd2 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 21. Qxc6 — queen to c6 (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 #75.
SP-75 · ThroneScout — Centre-file king, rim knight: 204 of the 960 positions share this pattern.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on c1 and g1, the queen on f1.
Castling long simply swaps the two pieces: the king on d1 and the rook on c1 trade places.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
The second rank carries 3 pawns with no defender at all: a2, b2, h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 881.
The engine's main line opens with g4.
Morozov Balance Index: 18 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +38 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #75Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 011 · SP-75
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