Winning blow: rook to d7 (h7)
c9-11005naming 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 1200 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.
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 b2, rook d4 h7, bishop d3, pawn c2 d2 b3.
Black: king d6, rook g3 d7, bishop d5, pawn b6 e6 b7.
7 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 34.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 16 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on b2, the black king on d6.
It is White to move on move 34, with 36 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, f, g, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: e.
The White king has 6 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
34. Rxd7+ Kxd7 35. c4 Kd6 36. Kc3 b5 37. cxd5
Why it works
- Great move! rook to d7 keeps the pressure (+4.5).
- Well found: pawn to c4 (+4.7).
- Strong! king to c3 is the sharp choice (+4.6).
- Great move! pawn to d5 keeps the pressure (+4.7).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Kxd7, then c4 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 34. Rxd7+ — rook to d7 (capture) with check
- Kxd7 — king to d7 (capture)
- 35. c4 — pawn to c4
- Kd6 — king to d6
- 36. Kc3 — king to c3
- b5 — pawn to b5
- 37. cxd5 — pawn to d5 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
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.
Endgame tactic
Tactics live in the endgame too — strike while material is scarce.
Tactics do not retire when the queens come off: forks, pins and double attacks live on in the endgame. With so little material left, every tactical loss is almost always decisive. The signs are the usual ones — undefended pieces, king and piece on one line, a pawn about to promote. Even in a "technical" ending, scan for a shot before every move, both yours and your opponent's.
Trapped piece
The attacked piece has no safe square — it is caught.
Trapping a piece means the attacked piece has no safe square left — it simply perishes. Do not chase it around; build a cage instead: cut off the escape squares with pawns and pieces first, and attack last. The typical victim has wandered deep into your camp or is stuck at the edge of the board, where its mobility is tiny. And always check the way home for your own raiders — or the trapped piece will be yours.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #365.
SP-365 · BastionScout — King shifted to c or f, with a knight committed to the corner from move one.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on b1 and e1, the queen on f1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from b1 to d1.
The bishops stand on d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: a2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 312.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 16 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +39 centipawns for White (depth 48, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #365Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 007 · SP-365
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