Winning blow: rook to d1 (e1·4)
c9-15335naming 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 c1, queen h1, rook e1, bishop g2 c3, knight b3, pawn a2 b2 f2 g3 h3 c4 e5.
Black: king c8, queen h8, rook d1 d8, bishop e6 g7, knight f6, pawn g5 h6 a7 b7 c7 f7.
13 white and 13 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 17.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 4 points of material (30 against 34; 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 c8.
It is White to move on move 17, with 2 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle. White are in check right now, so every reply must answer the check.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 6. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d — natural highways for the rooks and queen.
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
17. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 18. Kxd1 Nd7 19. Bxb7+
Why it works
- Great move! rook to d1 keeps the pressure (+3.6).
- Well found: king to d1 (+3.8).
- Precise: bishop to b7 is the top choice (+3.7).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Rxd1+, then Kxd1 and you win the rook.
Move by move
- 17. Rxd1 — rook to d1 (capture)
- Rxd1+ — rook to d1 (capture) with check
- 18. Kxd1 — king to d1 (capture)
- Nd7 — knight to d7
- 19. Bxb7+ — bishop to b7 (capture) with check
Types in this puzzle
Winning exchange
A forced series of captures on one square ends in your favour.
A winning exchange is a forced series of captures on one square that leaves you ahead in material. It is pure arithmetic: count the attackers and defenders of the square and note the value of every piece in the queue. Capture in the right order — cheap pieces first, expensive ones later — or a winning trade turns into a losing one. The classic error is stopping the count halfway and missing the opponent's final recapture.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #374.
SP-374 · ThroneScout — The king starts on d or e while at least one knight begins in a corner.
The king starts on d1, the rooks on b1 and e1, the queen on h1.
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 c1 and f1; their long diagonals reach h6 and a6 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: a2, f2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 294.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 65 of 100 — class B — balanced. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +22 centipawns for White (depth 45, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #374Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 006 · SP-374
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads