Winning blow: king to b1 (a1·2)
c9-18053naming 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 a1, queen c3, rook h4 b6, bishop h1 e3, knight g1, pawn b2 e2 g3 h3 e5.
Black: king a8, queen c5, rook a4 d8, bishop c4, knight c7, pawn a5 d5 f5 e6 g6 h7.
12 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 25.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 2 points of material (33 against 31; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on a1, the black king on a8.
It is White to move on move 25, 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 5 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, d, f.
White hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. 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
25. Kb1 Ba2+ 26. Kc2 Qxc3+ 27. Kxc3
Why it works
- Great move! king to b1 keeps the pressure (+4.4).
- Spot on — king to c2 (+4.2).
- Precise: king to c3 is the top choice (+4.5).
- You reach a winning position (+4.5).
- If instead Ba2+, then Kc2 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 25. 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 #935.
SP-935 · RampartGuard — A wing king (b/g) with no knight on the a- or h-file.
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and d1, the queen on f1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
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: h2.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 18.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 0 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +78 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
In 50 self-play games White scored 60.0% (95% CI 46.2–72.4%).
Explore position #935Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 005 · SP-935
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads