Winning blow: rook to e7 (g7·6)
c9-08911naming 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.
A fork made possible by the Chess960 piece placement.
Winning tactic: there is a move that gains a decisive advantage — find it.
Difficulty 1930 ShuffleRating — for advanced tacticians.
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.
A set-up fork needs one preparing move before the fork lands — a check that drives the king onto the forking square, or a capture that lines the targets up. Find the preparation first, then the fork it makes possible.
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, rook g7, bishop d4 g4, knight c2, pawn a2 b2 e2 g3.
Black: king h8, rook e8 f8, bishop b8, knight e4 b6, pawn c4 d5 g6 a7.
9 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 26.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 5 points of material (18 against 23; 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 h8.
It is White to move on move 26, with 36 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): f, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: c, d.
White hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
26. Re7+ Nf6 27. Bxf6+ Rxf6 28. Rxe8+ Kg7 29. Rxb8
Why it works
- Great move! rook to e7 keeps the pressure (+4.3).
- Well found: bishop to f6 (+4.5).
- Strong! rook to e8 is the sharp choice (+4.4).
- Great move! rook to b8 keeps the pressure (+4.5).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Nf6, then Bxf6+ and you win the knight.
Move by move
- 26. Re7+ — rook to e7 with check
- Nf6 — knight to f6
- 27. Bxf6+ — bishop to f6 (capture) with check
- Rxf6 — rook to f6 (capture)
- 28. Rxe8+ — rook to e8 (capture) with check
- Kg7 — king to g7
- 29. Rxb8 — rook to b8 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Setup fork
The random setup allows a fork that classical chess never sees.
A setup fork is a double attack that exists only because of the unusual starting squares — in classical chess these targets never stand side by side. Look for pairs of undefended pieces on your opponent's back rank and for squares from which a knight or pawn hits both at once. Such forks usually appear within the first moves, before the pieces disperse. In every new position, note right away which starting pieces are defended by no one.
Royal fork
A fork with check: the king must move, and the second piece is lost.
A royal fork is a fork with check — one of the two targets is the king itself. The check must be answered first, so nobody is left to rescue the second piece. Look for squares where your piece gives check and simultaneously attacks an undefended queen or rook. It is the most reliable fork of all, because your opponent literally has no choice.
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 #252.
SP-252 · 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 h1, the queen on e1.
Castling long simply swaps the two pieces: the king on d1 and the rook on c1 trade places.
The bishops stand on b1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a7 once the c- and f-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: b2, g2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 620.
The engine's main line opens with c4.
Morozov Balance Index: 26 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +34 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #252Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 014 · SP-252
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads