Winning blow: queen to d6 (c5·2)
c9-18108naming 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 1010 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 g1, queen c5, rook f1, bishop h1, knight c1 e4, pawn f2 d3 b6.
Black: king e7, rook h2 d6, bishop a8, pawn g3 g4 e5 b7.
9 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 29.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 9 points of material (26 against 17; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g1, the black king on e7.
It is White to move on move 29, with 32 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, c, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: e, g.
The White king has 0 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
29. Qxd6+ Ke8 30. Qxe5+ Kf7 31. fxg3+
Why it works
- Best move. queen to d6 is exactly what the engine plays (#5).
- Spot on — queen to e5 (#4).
- Precise: pawn to g3 is the top choice (#3).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Ke8, then Qxe5+ and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 29. Qxd6+ — queen to d6 (capture) with check
Types in this puzzle
Win the pinned piece
The pinned piece cannot run — attack it again and win it.
A pinned piece cannot flee, which means you can win it outright by attacking it one more time. Count attackers against defenders: if you outnumber them, the piece is yours. The best extra attacker is a pawn, since it costs less than anything it might capture. Do not rush the capture — build up the pressure first, then harvest.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #67.
SP-67 · ThroneGuard — A central king (d or e) and two knights tucked onto inner files: the family that holds the standard array, SP-518.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on d1 and g1, the queen on f1.
The queenside rook already stands on d1, so castling long moves only the king, from e1 to c1.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: c2, h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 883.
The engine's main line opens with g4.
Morozov Balance Index: 99 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +4 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #67Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 006 · SP-67
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