Winning blow: queen to c7 (c3·6)
c9-24800naming 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 1430 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 c3, rook e3, knight f5, pawn c2 h2 b3 f3 a4 e4 d6.
Black: king b8, queen f7, bishop f2, knight g2 f4, pawn a5 b6 f6 d7 g7 h7.
11 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 25.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 24 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 25, with 32 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 6. No file is fully open, so the heavy pieces have to be pried in. Half-open for White: 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
25. Qc7+ Ka8 26. Qc8+ Ka7 27. Nd4 Qxb3+ 28. cxb3
Why it works
- Great move! queen to c7 keeps the pressure (#6).
- Spot on — queen to c8 (#5).
- A natural move: knight to d4.
- Best move. pawn to b3 is exactly what the engine plays (#3).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Ka8, then Qc8+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 25. Qc7+ — queen to c7 with check
- Ka8 — king to a8
- 26. Qc8+ — queen to c8 with check
- Ka7 — king to a7
- 27. Nd4 — knight to d4
- Qxb3+ — queen to b3 (capture) with check
- 28. cxb3 — pawn to b3 (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 #877.
SP-877 · BastionScout — A c- or f-file king with at least one knight out on the edge.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and e1, the queen on a1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
The bishops stand on d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: g2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 88.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 31 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +32 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #877Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 011 · SP-877
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