Winning blow: queen to c6 (e4·4)
c9-27260naming 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 e1, queen e4, bishop f4, knight g3, pawn a2 b2 e2 f2.
Black: king c8, queen f7, rook h8, knight g1, pawn g4 a6 c6.
8 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 36.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 1 points of material (19 against 20; 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 c8.
It is White to move on move 36, with 42 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): d, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: c, 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
36. Qxc6+ Kd8 37. Bg5+ Qe7 38. Qd6+ Kc8 39. Qxe7
Why it works
- Great move! queen to c6 keeps the pressure (+24.8).
- Well found: bishop to g5 (#12).
- Precise: queen to d6 is the top choice (+9.4).
- Best move. queen to e7 is exactly what the engine plays (+13.0).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kd8, then Bg5+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 36. Qxc6+ — queen to c6 (capture) with check
- Kd8 — king to d8
- 37. Bg5+ — bishop to g5 with check
- Qe7 — queen to e7
- 38. Qd6+ — queen to d6 with check
- Kc8 — king to c8
- 39. Qxe7 — queen to e7 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Royal fork
A fork with check: the king must move, and the second piece is lost.
A royal fork is a fork with check — one of the two targets is the king itself. The check must be answered first, so nobody is left to rescue the second piece. Look for squares where your piece gives check and simultaneously attacks an undefended queen or rook. It is the most reliable fork of all, because your opponent literally has no choice.
Absolute pin
A piece is pinned against its king — it cannot legally move.
An absolute pin freezes a piece on the line between its own king and your long-range attacker: moving it is simply illegal. The pattern is three units on one straight line — your bishop, rook or queen, an enemy piece, and the enemy king behind it. A pinned piece neither attacks nor defends anything: treat it as if it were off the board. Pile up on it, ideally with a pawn, because running away is against the rules.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #788.
SP-788 · ThroneScout — The king starts on d or e while at least one knight begins in a corner.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on a1 and g1, the queen on d1.
Castling ends where it always does: king to g1 and rook to f1 on the short side, king to c1 and rook to d1 on the long one.
The bishops stand on b1 and c1; their long diagonals reach h7 and h6 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 174.
The engine's main line opens with d4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 78 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +18 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #788Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-788
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