Winning blow: king to b3 (a2·2)
c9-21654naming 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 1110 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 b8, rook h1, bishop a1 c4, knight f6, pawn e3 d4.
Black: king e7, queen f2, rook a7, knight f8, pawn a3 e4 c6 d7 f7 g7.
8 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 33.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 2 points of material (25 against 23; 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 e7.
It is White to move on move 33, 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 2 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, c, f, g.
White hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
33. Kb3 gxf6 34. Qxa7
Why it works
- Great move! king to b3 keeps the pressure (+5.2).
- Spot on — queen to a7 (+5.7).
- You win decisive material (+5.7).
- If instead gxf6, then Qxa7 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 33. Kb3 — king to b3
- gxf6 — pawn to f6 (capture)
- 34. Qxa7 — queen to a7 (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 #802.
SP-802 · BastionScout — A knight on the a- or h-file, king on c or f — the mirror twin lands here as well.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and g1, the queen on d1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 151.
The engine's main line opens with e3.
Morozov Balance Index: 86 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +15 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #802Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 007 · SP-802
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads