Winning blow: king to a2 (b1·34)
c9-22876naming 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 b1, queen f7, rook d2, bishop b6, pawn b2 c2 a4 h4.
Black: king b8, queen h1, rook e8, knight d4, pawn a5 e5 h5 g7.
8 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 34.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 21 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on b1, the black king on b8.
It is White to move on move 34, with 3 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): d, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: e, g.
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
34. Ka2 Qc6 35. Qa7+ Kc8 36. Qxa5 g5 37. Bxd4
Why it works
- Great move! king to a2 keeps the pressure (+4.6).
- Spot on — queen to a7 (+4.4).
- Precise: queen to a5 is the top choice (+4.6).
- Best move. bishop to d4 is exactly what the engine plays (+5.1).
- You win a piece — the knight.
- If instead Qc6, then Qa7+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 34. Ka2 — king to a2
- Qc6 — queen to c6
- 35. Qa7+ — queen to a7 with check
- Kc8 — king to c8
- 36. Qxa5 — queen to a5 (capture)
- g5 — pawn to g5
- 37. Bxd4 — bishop to d4 (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 #713.
SP-713 · RampartGuard — A wing king (b/g) with no knight on the a- or h-file.
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on c1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on d1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a5 once the e- and d-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: g2.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 441.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 51 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +26 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #713Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 010 · SP-713
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