Winning blow: rook to f6 (f1·2)
c9-12876naming 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.
A fork made possible by the Chess960 piece placement.
Winning tactic: there is a move that gains a decisive advantage — find it.
Difficulty 1010 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.
A set-up fork needs one preparing move before the fork lands — a check that drives the king onto the forking square, or a capture that lines the targets up. Find the preparation first, then the fork it makes possible.
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, queen a3, rook f1 h3, bishop b5, knight c6, pawn a2 g2 b3 c3 h4.
Black: king e6, rook c8 f8, bishop e4 f6, pawn d5 h5.
11 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 34.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 12 points of material (30 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 e6.
It is White to move on move 34, with 52 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 2. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): e, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: d.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 5 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
34. Rxf6+ Rxf6 35. Qe7+ Kf5 36. Nd4+
Why it works
- Best move. rook to f6 is exactly what the engine plays (#5).
- Well found: queen to e7 (#4).
- Precise: knight to d4 is the top choice (#3).
- You win decisive material (+15.0).
- If instead Rxf6, then Qe7+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 34. Rxf6+ — rook to f6 (capture) with check
Types in this puzzle
Setup fork
The random setup allows a fork that classical chess never sees.
A setup fork is a double attack that exists only because of the unusual starting squares — in classical chess these targets never stand side by side. Look for pairs of undefended pieces on your opponent's back rank and for squares from which a knight or pawn hits both at once. Such forks usually appear within the first moves, before the pieces disperse. In every new position, note right away which starting pieces are defended by no one.
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.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #558.
SP-558 · BastionGuard — King off-centre on c or f with both knights on inner files.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on e1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 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 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 500.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 75 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +19 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #558Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 006 · SP-558
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