Winning blow: king to a1 (b2·6)
c9-19678naming 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 970 ShuffleRating — for beginners taking their first steps in Chess960 tactics.
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 b2, queen e2, rook d1 g1, bishop e1 f3, knight g4, pawn a2 h2 c3.
Black: king d8, queen f8, rook b6 h8, bishop e8, knight d6, pawn a5 e6 b7 c7.
10 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 20.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 2 points of material (31 against 29; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on b2, the black king on d8.
It is White to move on move 20, with 5 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 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, f, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b, e.
White hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. 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
20. Ka1 Ba4 21. Rc1 Bb5 22. c4
Why it works
- Great move! king to a1 keeps the pressure (+4.2).
- Spot on — rook to c1 (+4.2).
- A natural move: pawn to c4.
- You reach a winning position (+4.6).
- If instead Kc8, then Bf2 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 20. Ka1 — king to a1
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 #171.
SP-171 · ThroneScout — Centre-file king, rim knight: 204 of the 960 positions share this pattern.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on b1 and g1, the queen on f1.
Castling ends where it always does: king to g1 and rook to f1 on the short side, king to c1 and rook to d1 on the long one.
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: h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 785.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 59 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +24 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #171Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 006 · SP-171
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