Winning blow: queen to b6 (b3)
c9-25664naming 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 b1, queen b3, rook d2, bishop h1, pawn b2 e2 f2 h3 g4 c6.
Black: king b8, queen e7, rook e8, bishop h8, knight g7, pawn e4 f4 b6 g6 h7.
10 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 26.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 2 points of material (23 against 25; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on b1, the black king on b8.
It is White to move on move 26, with 38 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, d — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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
26. Qxb6+ Kc8 27. Qa6+ Kb8 28. Rd7 Qxd7 29. cxd7
Why it works
- Great move! queen to b6 keeps the pressure (+7.9).
- Well found: queen to a6 (+8.3).
- A natural move: rook to d7.
- Best move. pawn to d7 is exactly what the engine plays (+8.4).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kc8, then Qa6+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 26. Qxb6+ — queen to b6 (capture) with check
- Kc8 — king to c8
- 27. Qa6+ — queen to a6 with check
- Kb8 — king to b8
- 28. Rd7 — rook to d7
- Qxd7 — queen to d7 (capture)
- 29. cxd7 — pawn to d7 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Win the pinned piece
The pinned piece cannot run — attack it again and win it.
A pinned piece cannot flee, which means you can win it outright by attacking it one more time. Count attackers against defenders: if you outnumber them, the piece is yours. The best extra attacker is a pawn, since it costs less than anything it might capture. Do not rush the capture — build up the pressure first, then harvest.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #807.
SP-807 · 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 f1, the queen on d1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
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: h2.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 146.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
Morozov Balance Index: 7 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +47 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #807Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-807
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