Winning blow: rook to e7 (e5·2)
c9-13882naming 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 c1, rook e5, bishop e2, knight f4, pawn c2 d3 e3 b4.
Black: king e8, rook e7, bishop g2, knight h4, pawn a2 d5 h7.
8 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 35.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (15 against 14; pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9) — the tactic has to convert or outweigh that.
The white king stands on c1, the black king on e8.
It is White to move on move 35, with 26 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 4 pawns, Black 3. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): f, g — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, 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
35. Rxe7+ Kxe7 36. Kb2 Bh1 37. Bg4 Kf6 38. Kxa2
Why it works
- Brilliant! The rook on e7 is a sacrifice that works — you stand better (+3.0).
- Well found: king to b2 (+3.0).
- A natural move: bishop to g4.
- Best move. king to a2 is exactly what the engine plays (+3.2).
- You reach a winning position (+3.2).
- If instead Kxe7, then Kb2 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 35. Rxe7+ — rook to e7 (capture) with check
- Kxe7 — king to e7 (capture)
- 36. Kb2 — king to b2
- Bh1 — bishop to h1
- 37. Bg4 — bishop to g4
- Kf6 — king to f6
- 38. Kxa2 — king to a2 (capture)
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.
King march
In the endgame the king is a fighting piece — march it in.
The king march: in the endgame the king is a fighting piece, and often it is his journey forward that wins. It is time to march when the queens are off and checks hold no danger — the king attacks pawns, escorts the passer, takes squares away. The telltale sign of the theme is several king moves in a row. Plan the full route in advance using the rule of the square, and do not let the enemy king grab the opposition.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #869.
SP-869 · ThroneScout — King in the middle of the rank, with a knight already committed to the corner.
The king starts on e1, the rooks on b1 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 c1 and d1; their long diagonals reach h6 and h5 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: g2, h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 90.
The engine's main line opens with Ng3, bringing the knight out to g3.
Morozov Balance Index: 61 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +23 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #869Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-869
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