Winning blow: knight to c6 (a5·3)
c9-19771naming 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 1010 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 c1, rook a1 b3, bishop d3 g3, knight h1 a5, pawn b2 g2 c3 f3 h4 f5 b7.
Black: king b8, rook d5, bishop e8 f8, knight f7, pawn d4 c5 e5 h5 g7.
14 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 25.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 10 points of material (29 against 19; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on c1, the black king on b8.
It is White to move on move 25, with 32 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: d, e.
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
25. Nc6+ Bxc6 26. Ra8+ Kc7 27. b8=Q+
Why it works
- Great move! knight to c6 keeps the pressure (#5).
- Spot on — rook to a8 (#4).
- Precise: pawn to b8 is the top choice (#3).
- You win decisive material (+15.0).
- If instead Bxc6, then Ra8+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 25. Nc6+ — knight to c6 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 #362.
SP-362 · BastionScout — The king starts one file off-centre, on c or f, and a knight begins in a corner.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and d1, the queen on g1.
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: a2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 309.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 21 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +36 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #362Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 006 · SP-362
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads