Winning blow: queen to d6 (b4·4)
c9-26103naming 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 b4, rook g1 a3, bishop d1, pawn b2 c2 h2 a4 d5.
Black: king b8, queen d8, rook d6 a7, bishop b7, knight g5 h8, pawn d7 g7 h7.
10 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 22.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 4 points of material (27 against 31; 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 22, with 45 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: g.
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
22. Qxd6+ Ka8 23. Qf4 Ngf7 24. Rxg7 Bxd5 25. Bf3
Why it works
- Great move! queen to d6 keeps the pressure (+4.3).
- queen to f4 develops smoothly.
- Precise: rook to g7 is the top choice (+4.5).
- Sensible development: bishop to f3.
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Ka8, then Qf4 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 22. Qxd6+ — queen to d6 (capture) with check
- Ka8 — king to a8
- 23. Qf4 — queen to f4
- Ngf7 — knight to f7
- 24. Rxg7 — rook to g7 (capture)
- Bxd5 — bishop to d5 (capture)
- 25. Bf3 — bishop to f3
Types in this puzzle
X-ray
A long-range piece acts through an enemy piece on the same line.
An X-ray lets a long-range piece act through an enemy piece standing on the same line — its power shines straight through. The square behind looks safe or defended, and that illusion is exactly what the tactic exploits. Check your rooks, bishops and queens: is a key square or a target hiding behind an enemy piece on their line? When counting captures on a square, include the X-ray attackers — they join the fight the moment the line opens.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #809.
SP-809 · RampartScout — King on b or g with a knight already on the edge — the least common of the position families (72 in all).
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and g1, the queen on c1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on d1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a5 once the e- and d-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the RampartScout family; read right to left it becomes position 153.
The engine's main line opens with d4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 14 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +40 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #809Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-809
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