Winning blow: rook to c7 (a7·2)
c9-15081naming 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 e3, rook a7, bishop g3, knight d4, pawn e2 d3 h3.
Black: king c8, rook a2, bishop h5, knight b4, pawn d5 g5 h6.
7 white and 7 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 30.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 14 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on e3, the black king on c8.
It is White to move on move 30, with 31 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): a, b, c, f — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: g.
The White king has 1 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
30. Rc7+ Kd8 31. Ne6+ Ke8 32. Ng7+ Kd8 33. Nxh5
Why it works
- Great move! rook to c7 keeps the pressure (+4.6).
- Spot on — knight to e6 (+4.0).
- Strong! knight to g7 is the sharp choice (+4.0).
- Best move. knight to h5 is exactly what the engine plays (+4.0).
- You win a piece — the bishop.
- If instead Kd8, then Ne6+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 30. Rc7+ — rook to c7 with check
- Kd8 — king to d8
- 31. Ne6+ — knight to e6 with check
- Ke8 — king to e8
- 32. Ng7+ — knight to g7 with check
- Kd8 — king to d8
- 33. Nxh5 — knight to h5 (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.
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 #171.
SP-171 · ThroneScout — Centre-file king, rim knight: 204 of the 960 positions share this pattern.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on b1 and g1, the queen on f1.
Castling ends where it always does: king to g1 and rook to f1 on the short side, king to c1 and rook to d1 on the long one.
A bishop starts in the corner on h1: it has a single diagonal, which the g-pawn unlocks, running out to a8.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 785.
The engine's main line opens with f4.
Morozov Balance Index: 59 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +24 centipawns for White (depth 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #171Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 010 · SP-171
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