Winning blow: queen to c8 (c3)
c9-26166naming 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 1290 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 e1, queen c3, rook c1, pawn a2 d2 h3 b4.
Black: king b8, queen d6, rook a4, pawn a3 e7 h7.
7 white and 6 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 38.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (18 against 17; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on e1, the black king on b8.
It is White to move on move 38, with 31 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, f, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: e.
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
38. Qc8+ Ka7 39. Rc7+ Qxc7 40. Qxc7+
Why it works
- Great move! queen to c8 keeps the pressure (+26.4).
- Well found: rook to c7 (#26).
- Strong! queen to c7 is the sharp choice (#24).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Ka7, then Rc7+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 38. Qc8+ — queen to c8 with check
- Ka7 — king to a7
- 39. Rc7+ — rook to c7 with check
- Qxc7 — queen to c7 (capture)
- 40. Qxc7+ — queen to c7 (capture) with check
Types in this puzzle
Check chase
Every move is a check — the king is chased into losing ground.
In a check chase every one of your moves is a check, so the opponent never gets a free second. The king is herded across the board until it loses a piece or walks into a decisive blow. Such lines are the easiest to calculate: each check allows only a handful of replies, so try them all. Make it a habit to start calculating any sharp position with the checks — they are the most forcing moves on the board.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #904.
SP-904 · BastionScout — A knight on the a- or h-file, king on c or f — the mirror twin lands here as well.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on a1 and f1, the queen on d1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
The bishops stand on b1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a5 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: g2, h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 61.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 47 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +27 centipawns for White (depth 41, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #904Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 009 · SP-904
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