Winning blow: queen to c7 (h7·2)
c9-27065naming 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 h7, rook g1, knight e4, pawn a2 d2 b3 h4 d5 f5.
Black: king a5, queen f8, rook e8, bishop h8, pawn d4 c5 a6 d6 f6.
10 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 33.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (23 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 a5.
It is White to move on move 33, with 38 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: c.
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
33. Qc7+ Kb5 34. Qc6+ Ka5 35. Nxd6 Qxd6 36. Qxd6
Why it works
- Great move! queen to c7 keeps the pressure (#9).
- Spot on — queen to c6 (#7).
- Precise: knight to d6 is the top choice (#6).
- Great move! queen to d6 keeps the pressure (#5).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kb5, then Qc6+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 33. Qc7+ — queen to c7 with check
- Kb5 — king to b5
- 34. Qc6+ — queen to c6 with check
- Ka5 — king to a5
- 35. Nxd6 — knight to d6 (capture)
- Qxd6 — queen to d6 (capture)
- 36. Qxd6 — queen to d6 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
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.
Counter-strike
Don't defend — answer the threat with a bigger one.
The counter-strike: instead of defending against the threat, you answer with a bigger threat of your own. While your opponent grabs a pawn, you deliver mate — the arithmetic favors you. Look for a counter when direct defenses fail: do you have a check, an attack on the queen, a mating threat? The beginner's error is meeting every threat with a reflexive defense without checking the counterattacking resources first.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #259.
SP-259 · ThroneGuard — A central king (d or e) and two knights tucked onto inner files: the family that holds the standard array, SP-518.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on c1 and g1, the queen on f1.
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 a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 595.
The engine's main line opens with b3.
Morozov Balance Index: 98 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +3 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
In 50 self-play games White scored 47.0% (95% CI 33.9–60.6%).
Explore position #259Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-259
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