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Day 390: Castling to safety

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.

Warm-up

1. Winning blow: pawn to g6 (f5·2)Shuffle Rating 920Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
2. Winning blow: queen to c6 (h1·2)Shuffle Rating 920Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
3. Attack on the uncastled king: knight to a6 (c5)Shuffle Rating 920Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
4. Attack on the uncastled king: knight to d6 (e8)Shuffle Rating 920Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
5. Winning blow: king to f1 (g1·6)Shuffle Rating 920Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
6. Winning blow: queen to f5 (f8)Shuffle Rating 920Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
7. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to f3 (d1)Shuffle Rating 920Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
8. Winning blow: queen to e7 (h7)Shuffle Rating 920Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
9. Winning blow: pawn to e6 (d5·11)Shuffle Rating 920Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
10. Winning blow: knight to d7 (e5·5)Shuffle Rating 920Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation

Core set

11. Castling-960 to the rescue on a1 (b1·2)Shuffle Rating 1340Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
12. Castling-960 to the rescue on f1Shuffle Rating 1340Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
13. Castling-960 to the rescue on a1 (d1·3)Shuffle Rating 1340Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
14. Castling-960 to the rescue on b1 (d1·5)Shuffle Rating 1340Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
15. Castling-960 to the rescue on h1 (d1)Shuffle Rating 1340Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
16. Attack on the uncastled king: bishop to g5 (c1·13)Shuffle Rating 1060Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
17. Winning blow: knight to d5 (c3·7)Shuffle Rating 1110Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
18. Attack on the uncastled king: knight to e6 (f4·6)Shuffle Rating 1060Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
19. Attack on the uncastled king: queen to g7 (d4·2)Shuffle Rating 1110Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
20. Attack on the uncastled king: rook to h2 (h1·10)Shuffle Rating 1060Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
21. Attack on the uncastled king: rook to e8 (e1·16)Shuffle Rating 1110Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
22. Attack on the uncastled king: pawn to e3 (d2·11)Shuffle Rating 1060Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
23. Winning blow: queen to f2 (e3)Shuffle Rating 1110Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
24. Winning blow: queen to f8 (f3·4)Shuffle Rating 1110Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
25. Winning blow: queen to d5 (c5·2)Shuffle Rating 1060Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation

Challenge

26. Winning blow: pawn to c4 (d3·6)Shuffle Rating 1200Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
27. Mate in 1: bishop to h6 (g5·2)Shuffle Rating 1384Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
28. Mate in 2: rook to b6 (b1)Shuffle Rating 1440Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation

Review

29. Winning blow: queen to b5 (a5·2)Shuffle Rating 1010Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation
30. Mate in 3: deflection on f8Shuffle Rating 1241Analysis
White to move — find the best continuation

Day complete — every puzzle solved. See you tomorrow!

Day 391 →