Winning blow: rook to e7 (e8·2)
c9-17993naming 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 b1, queen d6, rook e8, bishop c1, knight b3, pawn b2 c2 d2 f6.
Black: king b7, queen b6, rook a8, bishop g4 g5, pawn a6 c6 f7.
9 white and 8 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 29.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 1 points of material (24 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 b1, the black king on b7.
It is White to move on move 29, with 42 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): e, g, h — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: a.
Black hold the bishop pair, an edge in open lines. The White king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
29. Re7+ Kc8 30. Nc5 Bxf6 31. Qxf6
Why it works
- Best move. rook to e7 is exactly what the engine plays (#5).
- knight to c5 develops smoothly.
- Strong! queen to f6 is the sharp choice (#3).
- You win decisive material (+15.0).
- If instead Kc8, then Nc5 and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 29. Re7+ — rook to e7 with check
- Kc8 — king to c8
- 30. Nc5 — knight to c5
- Bxf6 — bishop to f6 (capture)
- 31. Qxf6 — queen to f6 (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 #725.
SP-725 · RampartGuard — A wing king (b/g) with no knight on the a- or h-file.
The king starts on b1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on f1.
From b1 the king makes the longest journey Chess960 allows when castling short: five squares to g1.
The bishops stand on c1 and d1; their long diagonals reach h6 and h5 once the d- and e-pawns step aside.
Every pawn on the second rank is defended from the very first move.
The setup belongs to the RampartGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 426.
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 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #725Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 006 · SP-725
Similar puzzles
In your browser or in the Android app. Nothing to install · Free, no ads