Winning blow: queen to d4 (a4·4)
c9-25968naming 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 d1, queen a4, rook b1, knight c1 e5, pawn c2 g2 h2 f3 a7.
Black: king e8, rook d4 h8, bishop c5 e6, knight c7, pawn c6 g7 h7.
10 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 27.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 3 points of material (25 against 22; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on d1, the black king on e8.
It is White to move on move 27, with 5 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): b, d, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. 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
27. Qxd4 Bxd4 28. Rb8+ Ke7 29. Nxc6+ Kf7 30. Nxd4
Why it works
- Great move! queen to d4 keeps the pressure (+6.4).
- Spot on — rook to b8 (+6.3).
- Strong! knight to c6 is the sharp choice (+6.5).
- Best move. knight to d4 is exactly what the engine plays (+7.0).
- You win decisive material (+7.0).
- If instead Bxd4, then Rb8+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 27. Qxd4 — queen to d4 (capture)
- Bxd4 — bishop to d4 (capture)
- 28. Rb8+ — rook to b8 with check
- Ke7 — king to e7
- 29. Nxc6+ — knight to c6 (capture) with check
- Kf7 — king to f7
- 30. Nxd4 — knight to d4 (capture)
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.
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.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #174.
SP-174 · ThroneScout — King on a central file (d/e) with a knight starting on the rim (a/h).
The king starts on d1, the rooks on b1 and h1, the queen on e1.
Castling ends where it always does: king to g1 and rook to f1 on the short side, king to c1 and rook to d1 on the long one.
The bishops stand on f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 788.
The engine's main line opens with f3.
Morozov Balance Index: 65 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +22 centipawns for White (depth 49, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #174Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 011 · SP-174
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