Winning blow: king to c2 (d3·5)
c9-19543naming 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 2060 ShuffleRating — expert level — few solve it at first try.
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 d3, queen g6, rook e1 f1, knight a4, pawn h2 a3 b3.
Black: king f8, queen d7, knight a6, pawn a5 h5 f7.
8 white and 6 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 32.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 10 points of material (25 against 15; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on d3, the black king on f8.
It is White to move on move 32, with 7 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 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, d, e, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: f.
The White king has 6 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
32. Kc2 Nc7 33. Qh6+ Kg8 34. Rg1+
Why it works
- Sensible development: king to c2.
- Spot on — queen to h6 (#5).
- Precise: rook to g1 is the top choice (#4).
- You win decisive material (+15.0).
- If instead Qc6+, then Qxc6 and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 32. Kc2 — king to c2
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 #15.
SP-15 · ThroneGuard — Both knights start on inner files (b–g) while the king sits centrally on d or e — one of 204 positions filed here.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on d1 and f1, the queen on a1.
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 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: c2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 944.
The engine's main line opens with b3.
Morozov Balance Index: 47 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +27 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #15Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 015 · SP-15
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads