Winning blow: rook to b1 (e1)
c9-12041naming 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 d2, rook e1, knight c3, pawn a3 g3 h3 c4 d4.
Black: king e7, rook b1 e6, knight b8, pawn c5 a6 h6 d7 g7.
8 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 34.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 5 points of material (13 against 18; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on d2, the black king on e7.
It is White to move on move 34, with 26 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, e, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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
34. Rxb1 Rg6 35. Rxb8
Why it works
- Great move! rook to b1 keeps the pressure (+4.5).
- Spot on — rook to b8 (+5.1).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Rg6, then Rxb8 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 34. Rxb1 — rook to b1 (capture)
- Rg6 — rook to g6
- 35. Rxb8 — rook to b8 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Remove the defender
Capture the guard first — then take what it protected.
Removing the defender is the straightforward plan: capture the guard first, then take what it guarded. Unlike deflection, the defender is not lured away — it is traded off or destroyed on the spot. Stare at the target you crave and ask who defends it, and whether that defender can be profitably eaten. Count the whole capture sequence, not just the first move — the trade must pay off at the end.
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.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #61.
SP-61 · BastionScout — A c- or f-file king with at least one knight out on the edge.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on c1 and h1, the queen on e1.
Castling ends where it always does: king to g1 and rook to f1 on the short side, king to c1 and rook to d1 on the long one.
The bishops stand on d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, b2.
The setup belongs to the BastionScout family; read right to left it becomes position 904.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 5 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +49 centipawns for White (depth 43, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #61Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 004 · SP-61
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads