Winning blow: rook to b8 (b7·4)
c9-12415naming 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 1430 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 a2, queen b6, rook b7, knight b2 a5, pawn e3 d4.
Black: king c8, queen c1, bishop a4 f6, knight b5, pawn d5 e6 f7 h7.
7 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 32.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 22 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on a2, the black king on c8.
It is White to move on move 32, with 23 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 2 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a, b, c, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: f, h.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 0 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
32. Rb8+ Kd7 33. Qb7+ Qc7 34. Nxa4 Qxb7 35. Rxb7+
Why it works
- Great move! rook to b8 keeps the pressure (+4.6).
- Spot on — queen to b7 (+4.5).
- Precise: knight to a4 is the top choice (+4.6).
- Best move. rook to b7 is exactly what the engine plays (+4.7).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kd7, then Qb7+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 32. Rb8+ — rook to b8 with check
- Kd7 — king to d7
- 33. Qb7+ — queen to b7 with check
- Qc7 — queen to c7
- 34. Nxa4 — knight to a4 (capture)
- Qxb7 — queen to b7 (capture)
- 35. Rxb7+ — rook to b7 (capture) with check
Types in this puzzle
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.
Simplification
Trade the heavy pieces and steer into a won endgame.
Simplification is how you convert an advantage: by trading queens and rooks you extinguish the counterplay and steer the game into a won endgame. The rule is simple — the side with extra material trades pieces but keeps pawns. Look for exchanges once the material is already won and your opponent is still rattling threats. The mistake is avoiding the queen trade and letting him muddy the water forever.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #570.
SP-570 · BastionGuard — King off-centre on c or f with both knights on inner files.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on a1 and g1, the queen on h1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
The bishops stand on e1 and f1; their long diagonals reach a5 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
The pawn on c2 is defended by the king alone — the same soft spot f2 is in the classical setup.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 485.
The engine's main line opens with g4.
Morozov Balance Index: 20 of 100 — class D — largest edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +37 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #570Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 010 · SP-570
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