Winning blow: queen to b8 (b4·2)
c9-26732naming 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 d1, queen b4, rook a1 f1, bishop h1, knight d4, pawn e2 h2 d3 f4.
Black: king e8, queen d7, rook b8 f8, bishop g8 h8, knight f6, pawn d5 f5 c6 g6 h7.
10 white and 12 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 25.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 4 points of material (29 against 33; 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 25, with 51 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, b — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: c, g.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 5 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
25. Qxb8+ Kf7 26. Qb6 Qd6 27. Ra7+ Nd7 28. Qxc6
Why it works
- Best move. queen to b8 is exactly what the engine plays (+3.5).
- queen to b6 develops smoothly.
- Precise: rook to a7 is the top choice (+3.5).
- Best move. queen to c6 is exactly what the engine plays (+3.8).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kf7, then Qb6 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 25. Qxb8+ — queen to b8 (capture) with check
- Kf7 — king to f7
- 26. Qb6 — queen to b6
- Qd6 — queen to d6
- 27. Ra7+ — rook to a7 with check
- Nd7 — knight to d7
- 28. Qxc6 — queen to c6 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Queen fork
The queen lands on a square from which it attacks two targets at once.
The queen strikes along files, ranks and diagonals, so she forks more often than any other piece. Look for a square where the queen attacks two undefended targets at once — most often a check combined with a loose piece. Diagonal blows are especially venomous: a slanting check that also eyes a rook in the corner is the classic of the genre. Remember that both targets must be unprotected, or your «fork» is just a shot into the air.
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.
Relative pin
A piece shields a more valuable one behind it — moving it loses material.
In a relative pin the piece shields not its king but something valuable behind it, usually the queen. Moving is legal but costly, because the piece behind falls. Look for three units on one line: your long-range piece, a cheaper enemy piece, and an expensive one hiding behind. Beware the classic trap — a relatively pinned piece can still move with check or a bigger threat, so verify before you cash in.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #223.
SP-223 · ThroneScout — A central king (d or e), but with a knight posted out on the a- or h-file.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on c1 and f1, the queen on b1.
Castling long simply swaps the two pieces: the king on d1 and the rook on c1 trade places.
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 d2, e2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 640.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 83 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +16 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #223Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-223
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads