Winning blow: rook to b8 (b1·3)
c9-08328naming 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 c1, queen d2, rook b1 f1, bishop h1, knight a1 g1, pawn a2 e2 h2 d3 g3 c4 f4.
Black: king e8, queen d7, rook b8 f8, bishop c8 h8, knight c3 h6, pawn f5 c6 d6 a7 e7 g7 h7.
14 white and 15 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 14.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 3 points of material (35 against 38; 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 e8.
It is White to move on move 14, with 36 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 7. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 1 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
14. Rxb8 g6 15. Rb3 Na4 16. Nc2
Why it works
- Great move! rook to b8 keeps the pressure (+2.8).
- rook to b3 develops smoothly.
- A natural move: knight to c2.
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead g6, then Rb3 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 14. Rxb8 — rook to b8 (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 #343.
SP-343 · ThroneScout — A central king (d or e), but with a knight posted out on the a- or h-file.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on b1 and f1, the queen on e1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from d1 to g1.
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 ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 322.
The engine's main line opens with d3.
Morozov Balance Index: 93 of 100 — class A — most balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +11 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #343Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Verified by Stockfish at depth 20+.
Solution forcedness confirmed (verified).
Pack 003 · SP-343
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