Winning blow: rook to f1 (d1·6)
c9-09089naming 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 1870 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.
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 e2, rook d1, knight c5, pawn c2 b3 g3 a4 h4.
Black: king f7, rook c8, knight d6, pawn b4 h5 c7.
9 white and 6 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 31.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 11 points of material (22 against 11; 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 f7.
It is White to move on move 31, with 41 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, e, 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
31. Rf1+ Kg8 32. Qe6+ Kh7 33. Qe7+
Why it works
- Best move. rook to f1 is exactly what the engine plays (#5).
- Spot on — queen to e6 (#5).
- Precise: queen to e7 is the top choice (#5).
- You win decisive material (+15.0).
- If instead Kg8, then Qxh5 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 31. Rf1+ — rook to f1 with check
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 #782.
SP-782 · BastionScout — The king starts one file off-centre, on c or f, and a knight begins in a corner.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and e1, the queen on a1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
The bishops stand on f1 and g1; their long diagonals reach a6 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
The pawn on c2, d2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 180.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 72 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +20 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #782Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 014 · SP-782
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