Winning blow: queen to b5 (a6·4)
c9-22965naming 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 1200 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 a6, bishop f2, knight e4, pawn c2 c4 f5 c6.
Black: king b8, queen h2, rook c7, pawn d4 f4 e5 a7 h7.
8 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 28.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 19 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on a2, the black king on b8.
It is White to move on move 28, with 29 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, d, e, h.
The White king has 5 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
28. Qb5+ Kc8 29. Nd6+ Kd8 30. Qb8+ Ke7 31. Qxc7+
Why it works
- Great move! queen to b5 keeps the pressure (#8).
- Spot on — knight to d6 (#5).
- Precise: queen to b8 is the top choice (#6).
- Great move! queen to c7 keeps the pressure (#5).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kc8, then Nd6+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 28. Qb5+ — queen to b5 with check
- Kc8 — king to c8
- 29. Nd6+ — knight to d6 with check
- Kd8 — king to d8
- 30. Qb8+ — queen to b8 with check
- Ke7 — king to e7
- 31. Qxc7+ — queen to c7 (capture) with check
Types in this puzzle
Royal fork
A fork with check: the king must move, and the second piece is lost.
A royal fork is a fork with check — one of the two targets is the king itself. The check must be answered first, so nobody is left to rescue the second piece. Look for squares where your piece gives check and simultaneously attacks an undefended queen or rook. It is the most reliable fork of all, because your opponent literally has no choice.
Check chase
Every move is a check — the king is chased into losing ground.
In a check chase every one of your moves is a check, so the opponent never gets a free second. The king is herded across the board until it loses a piece or walks into a decisive blow. Such lines are the easiest to calculate: each check allows only a handful of replies, so try them all. Make it a habit to start calculating any sharp position with the checks — they are the most forcing moves on the board.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #287.
SP-287 · BastionScout — King shifted to c or f, with a knight committed to the corner from move one.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and e1, the queen on f1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 576.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 97 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +7 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #287Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-287
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads