Winning blow: king to c3 (c2·2)
c9-18748naming 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 1390 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 c2, queen c7, rook b1 d1, bishop a6, knight d3, pawn h2 f3 c4.
Black: king e8, queen a8, rook b8 h8, bishop a4, knight h4, pawn e6 h6 a7 f7 g7.
9 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 25.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 2 points of material (28 against 30; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on c2, the black king on e8.
It is White to move on move 25, with 4 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 3 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, d — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, e, g.
The White king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
25. Kc3 Rxb1 26. Rxb1 Nxf3 27. Rb8+ Qxb8 28. Qxb8+
Why it works
- Great move! king to c3 keeps the pressure (+6.2).
- Well found: rook to b1 (+6.2).
- Precise: rook to b8 is the top choice (+6.6).
- Great move! queen to b8 keeps the pressure (+6.9).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Rxb1, then Rxb1 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 25. Kc3 — king to c3
- Rxb1 — rook to b1 (capture)
- 26. Rxb1 — rook to b1 (capture)
- Nxf3 — knight to f3 (capture)
- 27. Rb8+ — rook to b8 with check
- Qxb8 — queen to b8 (capture)
- 28. Qxb8+ — queen to b8 (capture) with check
Types in this puzzle
Remove the defender
Capture the guard first — then take what it protected.
Removing the defender is the straightforward plan: capture the guard first, then take what it guarded. Unlike deflection, the defender is not lured away — it is traded off or destroyed on the spot. Stare at the target you crave and ask who defends it, and whether that defender can be profitably eaten. Count the whole capture sequence, not just the first move — the trade must pay off at the end.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #778.
SP-778 · BastionScout — A knight on the a- or h-file, king on c or f — the mirror twin lands here as well.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and g1, the queen on a1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
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: h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 181.
The engine's main line opens with b4.
Morozov Balance Index: 26 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +34 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #778Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 010 · SP-778
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