Castling-960 to the rescue on a1 (d1·7)
c9-17317naming tag (square·N)Shuffle Rating 1340Theme: Castling 960: the strongest move is to castle — drag the king onto its rook.
White to move — find the best continuation
The tactical motive
Castling 960: the strongest move is to castle — drag the king onto its rook.
White to move — find the best continuation
Solution & explanation
Main line
18. O-O-O Rxf4 19. exf4 Nbd4 20. Bxc6
Why it works
- Sensible development: king to c1.
- Spot on — pawn to f4 (+1.4).
- Precise: bishop to c6 is the top choice (+1.0).
- You win a piece — the rook.
- If instead Rxf4, then exf4 and you stay on top.
About this position
These pieces come from starting position #459.
SP-459 · ThroneGuard — Both knights start on inner files (b–g) while the king sits centrally on d or e — one of 204 positions filed here.
Explore position #459Similar puzzles
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