Winning blow: rook to b7 (b2·2)
c9-16871naming 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 d2, queen h8, rook b2, knight d3 f4, pawn g2 f3 d4.
Black: king d7, queen a3, rook a5, bishop f5, knight e6, pawn a4 c6 f6 e7 g7.
8 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 26.
The position in numbers
Black are ahead by 2 points of material (23 against 25; 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 d7.
It is White to move on move 26, with 45 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 3 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): b, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a, c, e.
The White king has 6 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
26. Rb7+ Nc7 27. Rb8 Qa2+ 28. Ke3 Qe6+ 29. Nxe6
Why it works
- Great move! rook to b7 keeps the pressure (+6.6).
- Well found: rook to b8 (+6.8).
- A natural move: king to e3.
- Best move. knight to e6 is exactly what the engine plays (+6.9).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Nc7, then Rb8 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 26. Rb7+ — rook to b7 with check
- Nc7 — knight to c7
- 27. Rb8 — rook to b8
- Qa2+ — queen to a2 with check
- 28. Ke3 — king to e3
- Qe6+ — queen to e6 with check
- 29. Nxe6 — knight to e6 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Winning blow
Find the strike that wins material by force.
A winning blow is a forced material gain that does not fit a single textbook motif. The general tactical recipe applies: spot loose pieces, an awkwardly placed king, overloaded lines. Go through the forcing moves in order of violence — checks, captures, threats — because most combinations start with one of them. Do not judge by feel: calculate the concrete line until the outcome is beyond doubt.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #632.
SP-632 · 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 a1 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.
The bishops stand on b1 and e1; their long diagonals reach h7 and a5 once the c- and d-pawns step aside.
The second rank carries 2 pawns with no defender at all: b2, h2.
The setup belongs to the ThroneScout family; read right to left it becomes position 237.
The engine's main line opens with c3.
Morozov Balance Index: 43 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +28 centipawns for White (depth 50, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #632Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 008 · SP-632
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