Winning blow: rook to f7 (f1·2)
c9-04443naming 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 780 ShuffleRating — for beginners taking their first steps in Chess960 tactics.
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 d1, rook c1 f1, bishop a1 b1, knight e2, pawn a2 d2 g2 b3 h3 c4 e4 e5.
Black: king d8, queen f7, rook c8 e8, bishop b7 b8, knight g8, pawn c5 b6 a7 d7 g7 h7.
14 white and 13 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 16.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 7 points of material (27 against 34; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on d1, the black king on d8.
It is White to move on move 16, with 33 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 8 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): f — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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
16. Rxf7 Re7 17. Rf8+ Kc7 18. Rf5
Why it works
- Great move! rook to f7 keeps the pressure (+2.6).
- Spot on — rook to f8 (+2.6).
- A natural move: rook to f5.
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Re7, then Rxe7 and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 16. Rxf7 — rook to f7 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Hanging piece
A piece is left without protection — just take it.
A hanging piece is simply an unprotected piece you can take for free. It sounds primitive, yet most amateur games are decided exactly this way. Build the habit: before every move, sweep the board and note every undefended piece, yours and theirs. The classic mistake is hunting for a brilliant combination when all you need to do is bend down and pick up the gift.
Only move
Everything else loses — find the only move that holds.
An only move is a position where everything loses except one single continuation. You cannot play "by hand" here: run through fundamentally different defenses — run away, block, trade, counterattack — and discard the ones that fail. The hallmark of these puzzles is that the obvious moves lose quickly while the solution often looks strange. First understand exactly what the threat is — then the one saving move reveals itself.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #912.
SP-912 · ThroneScout — King on a central file (d/e) with a knight starting on the rim (a/h).
The king starts on d1, the rooks on c1 and e1, the queen on f1.
Castling long simply swaps the two pieces: the king on d1 and the rook on c1 trade places.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 47.
The engine's main line opens with c4.
Morozov Balance Index: 89 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +14 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #912Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 002 · SP-912
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