Attack on the uncastled king: queen to d8 (d4·7)
sf-u-0215naming tag (square·N)The tactical motive
Chess960 twist: use the unusual starting setup of the pieces.
Uncastled king: the enemy king is stuck in the centre — punish it before it castles.
Winning tactic: there is a move that gains a decisive advantage — find it.
Difficulty 1870 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
White to move — find the best continuation
Position on the board
White: king b1, queen d4, rook a1, bishop f1, knight e2 e7, pawn b2 c2 g2 h2 a4 e4.
Black: king b8, rook a8, bishop c6, pawn f4 h5 a6 b7 c7 g7.
12 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 18.
Solution & explanation
Main line
18. Qd8+ Ka7 19. Nxc6+ Kb6 20. a5+
Why it works
- Great move! queen to d8 keeps the pressure (#3).
- Well found: knight to c6 (#2).
- Strong! pawn to a5 is the sharp choice (#1).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead Ka7, then Nxc6+ and you win the bishop.
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.
Uncastled king
The king lingered in the middle — punish the delay.
Punishing the uncastled king: your opponent delayed castling, and now his king is stuck on its starting square under fire. In Chess960 this is deadlier than in classical chess — the king may start in the center or near the edge, and the familiar defensive setups simply do not apply. The signs: the victim still holds castling rights, and the files toward his king are half-open. Open lines before the king manages to hide.
Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 014
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