Attack on the uncastled king: rook to h8 (h7·7)
c9-05668naming 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.
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 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.
An uncastled king in the centre is a standing target. Look for ways to open the central files and diagonals against it with checks and threats before it can shelter — every tempo the king spends in the middle is a chance for a combination.
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 h2, rook b1 h7, bishop e1 e4, knight a1, pawn a2 b2 d2 e2 c3 f4.
Black: king c8, queen g8, rook g6 b8, bishop e7 e8, knight e6 a8, pawn a5 b5 c6 d7 f7.
13 white and 13 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 15.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 2 points of material (34 against 36; 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 c8.
It is White to move on move 15, with 42 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 6 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): g, h — 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
15. Rh8 Qg7 16. Rxe8+ Bd8 17. Bxg6
Why it works
- Great move! rook to h8 keeps the pressure (+3.0).
- Spot on — rook to e8 (+3.0).
- Precise: bishop to g6 is the top choice (+3.1).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Qg7, then Rxe8+ and you win the bishop.
Move by move
- 15. Rh8 — rook to h8
- Qg7 — queen to g7
- 16. Rxe8+ — rook to e8 (capture) with check
- Bd8 — bishop to d8
- 17. Bxg6 — bishop to g6 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Skewer
A line attack forces the valuable piece to move, exposing the one behind it.
A skewer is a pin turned inside out: the valuable piece stands in front and something cheaper hides behind it. The big piece must step aside, and you collect the one that was sheltering in its shadow. Scan for the enemy king or queen sharing a file, rank or diagonal with another enemy piece. The deadliest version comes with check — the king moves, the rook behind it dies.
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.
Win the pinned piece
The pinned piece cannot run — attack it again and win it.
A pinned piece cannot flee, which means you can win it outright by attacking it one more time. Count attackers against defenders: if you outnumber them, the piece is yours. The best extra attacker is a pawn, since it costs less than anything it might capture. Do not rush the capture — build up the pressure first, then harvest.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #267.
SP-267 · BastionScout — Off-centre king plus a rim knight (a/h): 168 positions carry this shape.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and g1, the queen on f1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, h2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 593.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 61 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +23 centipawns for White (depth 42, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #267Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 008 · SP-267
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads