Winning blow: rook to c7 (c8·2)
c9-13159naming 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 e1, queen g3, rook c8, knight b5, pawn d2 e2 g2 h2 a4.
Black: king f7, queen b4, rook f8, bishop g8, knight h8, pawn a5 f5 f6 h7.
9 white and 9 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 19.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 2 points of material (22 against 24; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on e1, the black king on f7.
It is White to move on move 19, with 44 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 4. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, c — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: f.
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
19. Rc7+ Ke8 20. Qe3+ Qe4 21. Nd6+ Kd8 22. Nxe4
Why it works
- Great move! rook to c7 keeps the pressure (#6).
- Spot on — queen to e3 (#5).
- Precise: knight to d6 is the top choice (+7.7).
- Best move. knight to e4 is exactly what the engine plays (+8.0).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Ke8, then Qe3+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 19. Rc7+ — rook to c7 with check
- Ke8 — king to e8
- 20. Qe3+ — queen to e3 with check
- Qe4 — queen to e4
- 21. Nd6+ — knight to d6 with check
- Kd8 — king to d8
- 22. Nxe4 — knight to e4 (capture)
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.
Absolute pin
A piece is pinned against its king — it cannot legally move.
An absolute pin freezes a piece on the line between its own king and your long-range attacker: moving it is simply illegal. The pattern is three units on one straight line — your bishop, rook or queen, an enemy piece, and the enemy king behind it. A pinned piece neither attacks nor defends anything: treat it as if it were off the board. Pile up on it, ideally with a pawn, because running away is against the rules.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #588.
SP-588 · ThroneScout — King on a central file (d/e) with a knight starting on the rim (a/h).
The king starts on e1, the rooks on c1 and f1, the queen on a1.
The kingside rook already stands on f1, so castling short moves only the king, from e1 to g1.
The bishops stand on b1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a7 once the c- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: g2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 284.
The engine's main line opens with Ng3, bringing the knight out to g3.
Morozov Balance Index: 69 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +21 centipawns for White (depth 47, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #588Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-588
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