Winning blow: rook to c4 (g4)
c9-12954naming 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 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.
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 g2, rook g4 d5, bishop b5, pawn a2 f2 g3.
Black: king b4, rook e1, knight c4, pawn h5 a7 f7.
7 white and 6 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 41.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 5 points of material (16 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 g2, the black king on b4.
It is White to move on move 41, with 34 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): b, c, d, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: h.
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
41. Rxc4+ Ka5 42. Bd7+ Ka6 43. Rb5
Why it works
- Great move! rook to c4 keeps the pressure (#4).
- Spot on — bishop to d7 (#3).
- A natural move: rook to b5.
- You win a piece — the knight.
- If instead Ka5, then Bd7+ and you win the knight.
Move by move
- 41. Rxc4+ — rook to c4 (capture) with check
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.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #2.
SP-2 · RampartGuard — A b- or g-file king and two knights on inner files (b–g).
The king starts on g1, the rooks on e1 and h1, the queen on b1.
The king already stands on its castled square, so castling short moves only the rook, from h1 to f1.
A bishop starts in the corner on a1: it has a single diagonal, which the b-pawn unlocks, running out to h8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: d2.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 951.
The engine's main line opens with h4.
Morozov Balance Index: 61 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +23 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #2Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 006 · SP-2
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