Winning blow: queen to b5 (b4·3)
c9-25822naming 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 b4, rook a1, bishop e4, pawn b2 e2 d3 g3.
Black: king b7, queen d8, rook a8 f8, bishop g8, pawn c4 b5 c6 h7.
8 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 26.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 5 points of material (21 against 26; 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 b7.
It is White to move on move 26, with 36 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: c, h.
The White king has 3 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
26. Qxb5+ Qb6 27. Bxc6+ Kc7 28. Qxb6+ Kxb6 29. Rxa8
Why it works
- Brilliant! The queen on b5 is a sacrifice that works — you stand better (+2.8).
- Well found: bishop to c6 (+3.1).
- Strong! queen to b6 is the sharp choice (+3.1).
- Great move! rook to a8 keeps the pressure (+3.0).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Qb6, then Bxc6+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 26. Qxb5+ — queen to b5 (capture) with check
- Qb6 — queen to b6
- 27. Bxc6+ — bishop to c6 (capture) with check
- Kc7 — king to c7
- 28. Qxb6+ — queen to b6 (capture) with check
- Kxb6 — king to b6 (capture)
- 29. Rxa8 — rook to a8 (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.
Only move
Everything else loses — find the only move that holds.
An only move is a position where everything loses except one single continuation. You cannot play "by hand" here: run through fundamentally different defenses — run away, block, trade, counterattack — and discard the ones that fail. The hallmark of these puzzles is that the obvious moves lose quickly while the solution often looks strange. First understand exactly what the threat is — then the one saving move reveals itself.
Simplification
Trade the heavy pieces and steer into a won endgame.
Simplification is how you convert an advantage: by trading queens and rooks you extinguish the counterplay and steer the game into a won endgame. The rule is simple — the side with extra material trades pieces but keeps pawns. Look for exchanges once the material is already won and your opponent is still rattling threats. The mistake is avoiding the queen trade and letting him muddy the water forever.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #735.
SP-735 · 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.
The pawn on b2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 416.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
Morozov Balance Index: 20 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +37 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #735Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 011 · SP-735
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