Winning blow: queen to c8 (d7·2)
c9-18444naming 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 1060 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 f2, queen d7, rook f1 c3, bishop a3, pawn a2 h2 b3 e3 g3 f4 c7.
Black: king g8, rook g6 c8, pawn e4 a5 f5 g5 b6 h7.
12 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 31.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 13 points of material (29 against 16; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on f2, the black king on g8.
It is White to move on move 31, with 47 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
The White king has 4 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
31. Qxc8+ Kf7 32. Qd7+ Kf6 33. Qe7#
Why it works
- Best move. queen to c8 is exactly what the engine plays (#2).
- Spot on — queen to d7 (#1).
- Precise: queen to e7 is the top choice (#).
- The line ends in a forced mate in 3.
- If instead Kf7, then Qd7+ and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 31. Qxc8+ — queen to c8 (capture) with check
- Kf7 — king to f7
- 32. Qd7+ — queen to d7 with check
- Kf6 — king to f6
- 33. Qe7# — queen to e7 and it is checkmate
Types in this puzzle
Supported queen mate
The queen delivers mate face to face, protected by a friend.
The supported queen mate is the most common pattern of all: the queen lands next to the king and mates because a friendly piece or pawn protects her. The king is helpless — capturing is impossible, and the queen covers every neighboring square herself. Hunt for a protected square beside the enemy king: a knight, bishop or pawn eyeing it turns her invasion into mate. Verify one thing — that the square really is defended, or the king eats her.
Mate in 3
A forced checkmate in three moves.
Mate in three is a forced staircase: each of your moves narrows the opponent's choices, and the third one ends the game. Look for the start among checks and sacrifices — quiet first moves are rare in mating problems, but deliciously sneaky. Keep the tree in your head: every defense gets its own branch. Do not stop calculating after move two — see the final mating picture with your own eyes.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #323.
SP-323 · ThroneGuard — King home on d or e, knights kept off the a- and h-files — the family of the standard starting array.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on c1 and f1, the queen on d1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
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: a2, h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 339.
The engine's main line opens with c4.
Morozov Balance Index: 86 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +15 centipawns for White (depth 49, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #323Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 006 · SP-323
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