Day 232: Castling to safety

Target Rating 905

Lesson of the day

Castling to safety: the only escape from the attack is to castle — one move whisks the king to g1 or c1 and brings the rook into play as a bonus. In Chess960 this leap can cross half the board, which is exactly why it slips out of sight. Whenever your king is under pressure, ask first: can I still castle? The typical blunder is throwing that right away with a careless king or rook move.

Types of the dayCastling to safety Uncastled king Hanging piece

Warm-up

1. Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e4 (f3·20)Shuffle Rating 780 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

2. Attack on the uncastled king: rook to b4 (b1·4)Shuffle Rating 780 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

3. Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to d5 (e4·67)Shuffle Rating 780 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

4. Winning blow: rook to g2 (g1)Shuffle Rating 780 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

5. Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to h5 (g4·8)Shuffle Rating 780 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

6. Attack on the uncastled king: knight to c6 (e5·2)Shuffle Rating 780 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

7. Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to c3 (e1·2)Shuffle Rating 780 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

8. Attack on the uncastled king: knight to h5 (g3·11)Shuffle Rating 780 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

9. Attack on the uncastled king: rook to d1 (f1·2)Shuffle Rating 780 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

10. Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e4 (f3·21)Shuffle Rating 780 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

Core set

11. Castling-960 to the rescue on g1 (f1·3)Shuffle Rating 1150 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

12. Castling-960 to the rescue on a8Shuffle Rating 1150 Analysis

Black to move — find the best continuation

13. Castling-960 to the rescue on h1Shuffle Rating 1150 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

14. Castling-960 to the rescue on b1Shuffle Rating 1150 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

15. Castling-960 to the rescue on h8 (f8·2)Shuffle Rating 1150 Analysis

Black to move — find the best continuation

16. Fork: knight to e3 (d5)Shuffle Rating 976 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

17. Fork: knight to f4 (d5·2)Shuffle Rating 980 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

18. Winning blow: rook to a8 (a1·5)Shuffle Rating 920 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

19. Winning blow: pawn to d5 (c4·8)Shuffle Rating 920 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

20. Winning blow: king to h2 (g1·3)Shuffle Rating 970 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

21. Fork: queen to c5Shuffle Rating 981 Analysis

Black to move — find the best continuation

22. Winning blow: rook to a1 (h1)Shuffle Rating 920 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

23. Winning blow: queen to a8 (c6·3)Shuffle Rating 920 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

24. Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e3 (f2·18)Shuffle Rating 920 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

25. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to e4 (a4)Shuffle Rating 970 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

Challenge

26. Winning blow: queen to f4 (f1·2)Shuffle Rating 1060 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

27. Mate in 3: queen to f2 (f6)Shuffle Rating 1156 Analysis

Black to move — find the best continuation

28. Winning blow: pawn to b6 (a5·7)Shuffle Rating 1200 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

Review

29. Attack on the uncastled king: rook to g8 (g1·6)Shuffle Rating 920 Analysis

White to move — find the best continuation

30. Mate in 1: knight to f3Shuffle Rating 1060 Analysis

Black to move — find the best continuation

Day complete — every puzzle solved. See you tomorrow!