Winning blow: king to e2 (d1·23)
c9-21788naming 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 1390 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 d1, queen f3, rook a1, knight c3, pawn c2 d2 a3 e3 h4 f5.
Black: king b8, rook g1 a8, pawn a4 b6 d6 c7 d7 f7 h7.
10 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 23.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 6 points of material (23 against 17; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on d1, the black king on b8.
It is White to move on move 23, with 2 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 6 pawns, Black 7. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b.
The White king has 1 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
23. Ke2 Rxa1 24. Qe4 Ra5 25. Qe8+ Kb7 26. Qxd7
Why it works
- Great move! king to e2 keeps the pressure (+5.2).
- queen to e4 develops smoothly.
- Precise: queen to e8 is the top choice (+5.6).
- Best move. queen to d7 is exactly what the engine plays (+5.6).
- You win decisive material (+5.6).
- If instead Rxa1, then Qe4 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 23. Ke2 — king to e2
- Rxa1 — rook to a1 (capture)
- 24. Qe4 — queen to e4
- Ra5 — rook to a5
- 25. Qe8+ — queen to e8 with check
- Kb7 — king to b7
- 26. Qxd7 — queen to d7 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Discovered attack
A piece steps aside and opens a second attack from the piece behind it.
A discovered attack works like a curtain: one piece steps off the line and unveils the long-range piece behind it. The beauty is that the moving piece can create a second threat of its own — two attacks in one move. Look for your stacked pairs: a bishop or rook behind a knight or pawn, aimed through them at something valuable. Send the front piece to the most aggressive square — a discovery without a second threat wastes half its power.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #851.
SP-851 · BastionGuard — Off-centre king (c/f), no knight on the a- or h-file.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and e1, the queen on g1.
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.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 99.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 80 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +17 centipawns for White (depth 42, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #851Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 010 · SP-851
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