Winning blow: queen to c7 (c3·5)
c9-27047naming 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.
A fork made possible by the Chess960 piece placement.
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.
A set-up fork needs one preparing move before the fork lands — a check that drives the king onto the forking square, or a capture that lines the targets up. Find the preparation first, then the fork it makes possible.
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 c3, rook e1, bishop d4, pawn c2 g2 h2 b3 b4 f4 e5.
Black: king a7, queen b5, rook e8, bishop d7 g7, pawn h5 b6 f6 c7.
11 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 24.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 24 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on b1, the black king on a7.
It is White to move on move 24, with 36 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, d — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. 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
24. Qxc7+ Ka8 25. Kb2 Qa6 26. Ra1 Qxa1+ 27. Kxa1
Why it works
- Great move! queen to c7 keeps the pressure (+8.2).
- king to b2 develops smoothly.
- A natural move: rook to a1.
- Best move. king to a1 is exactly what the engine plays (+8.8).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Ka8, then Kb2 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 24. Qxc7+ — queen to c7 (capture) with check
- Ka8 — king to a8
- 25. Kb2 — king to b2
- Qa6 — queen to a6
- 26. Ra1 — rook to a1
- Qxa1+ — queen to a1 (capture) with check
- 27. Kxa1 — king to a1 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Setup fork
The random setup allows a fork that classical chess never sees.
A setup fork is a double attack that exists only because of the unusual starting squares — in classical chess these targets never stand side by side. Look for pairs of undefended pieces on your opponent's back rank and for squares from which a knight or pawn hits both at once. Such forks usually appear within the first moves, before the pieces disperse. In every new position, note right away which starting pieces are defended by no one.
Winning blow
Find the strike that wins material by force.
A winning blow is a forced material gain that does not fit a single textbook motif. The general tactical recipe applies: spot loose pieces, an awkwardly placed king, overloaded lines. Go through the forcing moves in order of violence — checks, captures, threats — because most combinations start with one of them. Do not judge by feel: calculate the concrete line until the outcome is beyond doubt.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #750.
SP-750 · RampartGuard — King on the wing (b/g) with both knights on inner files.
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on e1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
The pawn on c2 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 404.
The engine's main line opens with d4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 86 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +15 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #750Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-750
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads