Winning blow: king to b1 (c1·33)
c9-27629naming 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 1250 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 c1, queen d8, rook d1, knight c2 c6, pawn b2 h2 a3 g3.
Black: king b7, queen h6, rook a6, bishop f1 h8, pawn a4 f5 e7.
9 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 28.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (24 against 23; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on c1, the black king on b7.
It is White to move on move 28, with 4 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle. White are in check right now, so every reply must answer the check.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): c, d — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: e, f.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 1 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
28. Kb1 Qxc6 29. Rd7+ Qxd7 30. Qxd7+
Why it works
- Great move! king to b1 keeps the pressure (+5.4).
- Spot on — rook to d7 (+5.8).
- Strong! queen to d7 is the sharp choice (+5.9).
- You win decisive material (+5.9).
- If instead Qxc6, then Rd7+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 28. Kb1 — king to b1
- Qxc6 — queen to c6 (capture)
- 29. Rd7+ — rook to d7 with check
- Qxd7 — queen to d7 (capture)
- 30. Qxd7+ — queen to d7 (capture) with check
Types in this puzzle
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 #759.
SP-759 · RampartGuard — King pushed to the b- or g-file, knights off the edges — 144 positions here.
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and f1, the queen on g1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: e2.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 386.
The engine's main line opens with a4.
Morozov Balance Index: 91 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +13 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #759Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 009 · SP-759
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