Winning blow: queen to b6 (b5)
c9-20891naming 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 c1, queen b5, rook b1 e3, bishop d4, knight d3, pawn d2 e2 b3 c3 a4 g4 g5.
Black: king c8, queen e6, rook a8 e8, bishop e7, knight e4, pawn d5 c6 d7 h7.
13 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 24.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 3 points of material (32 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 c1, the black king on c8.
It is White to move on move 24, with 38 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: h.
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
24. Qb6 Qxg4 25. Nc5 Bxc5 26. Bxc5
Why it works
- Great move! queen to b6 keeps the pressure (+2.6).
- knight to c5 develops smoothly.
- Strong! bishop to c5 is the sharp choice (+3.2).
- You reach a winning position (+3.2).
- If instead Qxg4, then Nc5 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 24. Qb6 — queen to b6
Types in this puzzle
Quiet move
No check, no capture — yet this modest move decides the game.
A quiet move gives no check and takes nothing — yet it decides the game by creating an unstoppable threat or stealing the king's last square. This is the hardest class of moves: the eye hunts for loud blows while a modest shift does the winning. The clue: every forcing try runs into a defense, so seek the move that strengthens the threat or takes squares away. Train yourself to ask: what if I neither capture nor check, but quietly improve?
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #686.
SP-686 · BastionGuard — A c- or f-file king and two knights on inner files (b–g).
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and h1, the queen on a1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
The bishops stand on f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
The pawn on d2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 468.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
Morozov Balance Index: 65 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +22 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #686Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 006 · SP-686
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads