Winning blow: knight to d7 (c5·17)
c9-19738naming 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 1280 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 a2, queen e1, rook b1 e6, knight c5, pawn c2 c4 d4.
Black: king f8, rook h7 d8, pawn a5 c6 f6 a7 g7.
8 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 34.
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 a2, the black king on f8.
It is White to move on move 34, with 48 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, e, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, f, g.
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
34. Nd7+ Kf7 35. Re7+ Kg8 36. Qe6+
Why it works
- Best move. knight to d7 is exactly what the engine plays (#4).
- Spot on — rook to e7 (#3).
- Precise: queen to e6 is the top choice (#2).
- You win decisive material (+15.0).
- If instead Rxd7, then Re8+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 34. Nd7+ — knight to d7 with check
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 #170.
SP-170 · ThroneScout — The king starts on d or e while at least one knight begins in a corner.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on b1 and h1, the queen on g1.
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.
The bishops stand on e1 and f1; their long diagonals reach a5 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 789.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 20 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +37 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #170Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 009 · SP-170
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