Winning blow: knight to b8 (d7·4)
c9-19572naming 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 1200 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 b1, rook f1, bishop h1, knight d7, pawn b2 c2 h3 g4 a5.
Black: king a7, rook b8, bishop g6, knight h4 d6, pawn b5 g5 f6 h6.
9 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 34.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 2 points of material (16 against 18; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on b1, the black king on a7.
It is White to move on move 34, with 28 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: f.
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
34. Nxb8 Kxb8 35. Rxf6 Be4 36. Bxe4 Nxe4 37. Rxh6
Why it works
- Great move! knight to b8 keeps the pressure (+4.1).
- Well found: rook to f6 (+4.1).
- Precise: bishop to e4 is the top choice (+4.5).
- Best move. rook to h6 is exactly what the engine plays (+4.5).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kxb8, then Rxf6 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 34. Nxb8 — knight to b8 (capture)
- Kxb8 — king to b8 (capture)
- 35. Rxf6 — rook to f6 (capture)
- Be4 — bishop to e4
- 36. Bxe4 — bishop to e4 (capture)
- Nxe4 — knight to e4 (capture)
- 37. Rxh6 — rook to h6 (capture)
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 #806.
SP-806 · RampartScout — The king starts on b or g while a knight begins on the a- or h-file — the smallest family.
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and g1, the queen on d1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on c1 and f1; their long diagonals reach h6 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 RampartScout family; read right to left it becomes position 150.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
Morozov Balance Index: 47 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +27 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #806Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-806
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