Winning blow: rook to g1 (a1)
c9-15318naming 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 1060 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 d2, rook a1 f5, bishop c2, pawn a2 b2 c5 e5.
Black: king g6, queen g1, rook a8, bishop c4, knight h3, pawn b6 a7 d7.
8 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 31.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 6 points of material (17 against 23; 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 g6.
It is White to move on move 31, with 29 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, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: d.
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
31. Rxg1+ Nxg1 32. Rf8+ Kg5 33. Rxa8
Why it works
- Great move! rook to g1 keeps the pressure (+4.2).
- Well found: rook to f8 (+4.3).
- Strong! rook to a8 is the sharp choice (+4.2).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Nxg1, then Rf8+ and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 31. Rxg1+ — rook to g1 (capture) with check
- Nxg1 — knight to g1 (capture)
- 32. Rf8+ — rook to f8 with check
- Kg5 — king to g5
- 33. Rxa8 — rook to a8 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Discovered check
The moving piece opens a check — and is free to grab anything meanwhile.
With a discovered check the moving piece unmasks a check from the piece standing behind it. While the king deals with the check, the piece that moved grabs whatever it likes, free of charge. Look for your long-range piece on a line with the enemy king, with exactly one of your own pieces in between. The rule: among all the ways to step aside, pick the one that captures or attacks the most expensive loot.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #520.
SP-520 · BastionGuard — Both knights begin inside the board while the king stands on c or f; a position and its mirror twin share this family.
The king starts on f1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on d1.
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.
The bishops stand on b1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a5 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: b2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 541.
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 44, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #520Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 006 · SP-520
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