Winning blow: king to c1 (b1·22)
c9-25057naming 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 d7, rook h1, bishop e2, knight f1 a6, pawn c2 g2 h2 a3 a5.
Black: king a8, queen g8, rook b2 h8, bishop f6, knight e8, pawn b5 h5 g7.
11 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 21.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 28 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 a8.
It is White to move on move 21, 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 5 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, e, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b.
The White king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
21. Kc1 Rxc2+ 22. Kd1 Nc7 23. Nxc7+ Rxc7 24. Qxc7
Why it works
- Great move! king to c1 keeps the pressure (+3.2).
- Well found: king to d1 (+3.5).
- Strong! knight to c7 is the sharp choice (+3.8).
- Great move! queen to c7 keeps the pressure (+3.4).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Rxc2+, then Kd1 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 21. Kc1 — king to c1
- Rxc2+ — rook to c2 (capture) with check
- 22. Kd1 — king to d1
- Nc7 — knight to c7
- 23. Nxc7+ — knight to c7 (capture) with check
- Rxc7 — rook to c7 (capture)
- 24. Qxc7 — queen to c7 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Winning exchange
A forced series of captures on one square ends in your favour.
A winning exchange is a forced series of captures on one square that leaves you ahead in material. It is pure arithmetic: count the attackers and defenders of the square and note the value of every piece in the queue. Capture in the right order — cheap pieces first, expensive ones later — or a winning trade turns into a losing one. The classic error is stopping the count halfway and missing the opponent's final recapture.
King evacuation
The king walks out of the danger zone on its own feet.
King evacuation: when the shelter collapses, the king walks out of the attack on his own feet — sometimes across half the board. A series of precise king moves carries him out of the firing zone, and the enemy attack dissolves. The signs: no direct defense works, but there is a route over unattacked squares to a quiet corner. Calculate the entire journey in advance — a king stranded halfway usually dies there.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #741.
SP-741 · RampartGuard — King pushed to the b- or g-file, knights off the edges — 144 positions here.
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on g1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on c1 and d1; their long diagonals reach h6 and h5 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 410.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
Morozov Balance Index: 59 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +24 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #741Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 010 · SP-741
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