Winning blow: king to e3 (d3)
c9-22074naming 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 d3, queen e4, rook g1, bishop d6, knight e6, pawn d4 d5 f5 h5.
Black: king e8, queen a6, rook a4 f7, pawn b6 h6 a7 g7.
9 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 34.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (24 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 d3, the black king on e8.
It is White to move on move 34, with 4 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 4 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, b, 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. Ke3 Kd7 35. Nxg7 Kxd6 36. Qe6+ Kc7 37. Rc1+
Why it works
- Great move! king to e3 keeps the pressure (+8.4).
- Spot on — knight to g7 (+9.9).
- Precise: queen to e6 is the top choice (+9.1).
- Great move! rook to c1 keeps the pressure (+10.4).
- You win decisive material (+10.4).
- If instead Kd7, then Nxg7 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 34. Ke3 — king to e3
- Kd7 — king to d7
- 35. Nxg7 — knight to g7 (capture)
- Kxd6 — king to d6 (capture)
- 36. Qe6+ — queen to e6 with check
- Kc7 — king to c7
- 37. Rc1+ — rook to c1 with check
Types in this puzzle
Decoy
A sacrifice lures the king or a piece onto a fatal square.
A decoy is the mirror image of deflection: you sacrifice to drag the king or a piece onto a fatal square. The classic is a queen or rook sac whose capture pulls the king into a knight fork, a discovered check or mate. Find the square where the target will be hit, then find the offer it cannot refuse. Calculate to the very end — a decoy only works when the follow-up is forced.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #532.
SP-532 · ThroneGuard — A centre-file king with no knight on the edge; a position and its mirror twin always share this family.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on f1.
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 b1 and c1; their long diagonals reach h7 and h6 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 526.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 65 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +22 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #532Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 010 · SP-532
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