Winning blow: rook to f1 (b1)
c9-09061naming 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 920 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 g1, queen g3, rook b1 h2, bishop h5, knight d6, pawn a3 c5.
Black: king d8, queen e7, rook f1, bishop a6, knight b8, pawn d2 a4 b6 e6 d7 g7.
8 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 31.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (27 against 26; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on g1, the black king on d8.
It is White to move on move 31, with 2 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle. White are in check right now, so every reply must answer the check.
White keeps 2 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): f, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: b, d, e, g.
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
31. Rxf1 Bxf1 32. Rxd2
Why it works
- Great move! rook to f1 keeps the pressure (+6.3).
- Spot on — rook to d2 (+5.5).
- You win decisive material (+5.5).
- If instead Bxf1, then Rxd2 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 31. Rxf1 — rook to f1 (capture)
- Bxf1 — bishop to f1 (capture)
- 32. Rxd2 — rook to d2 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Winning blow
Find the strike that wins material by force.
A winning blow is a forced material gain that does not fit a single textbook motif. The general tactical recipe applies: spot loose pieces, an awkwardly placed king, overloaded lines. Go through the forcing moves in order of violence — checks, captures, threats — because most combinations start with one of them. Do not judge by feel: calculate the concrete line until the outcome is beyond doubt.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #373.
SP-373 · ThroneScout — A central king (d or e), but with a knight posted out on the a- or h-file.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on b1 and f1, the queen on h1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
The bishops stand on c1 and d1; their long diagonals reach h6 and h5 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 298.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 3 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +51 centipawns for White (depth 42, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #373Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 004 · SP-373
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