Winning blow: rook to c6 (a6·2)
c9-19157naming 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 1280 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 f1, rook h1 a6, bishop e3, pawn c2 d2 b3 f3 h4 d5 f6.
Black: king c7, queen c6, rook h8, pawn b4 f4 c5 e5 h5 d6 g6.
12 white and 10 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 30.
The position in numbers
White are ahead by 8 points of material (29 against 21; 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 c7.
It is White to move on move 30, with 38 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 7 pawns, Black 7. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): a — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for White: e, g.
The White king has 4 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
30. Rxc6+ Kd8 31. Qb5 Ke8 32. Rc7+
Why it works
- Best move. rook to c6 is exactly what the engine plays (#3).
- queen to b5 develops smoothly.
- Precise: rook to c7 is the top choice (#1).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Kd8, then Qb5 and you win the queen.
Move by move
- 30. Rxc6+ — rook to c6 (capture) with check
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 #541.
SP-541 · BastionGuard — The king starts one file off-centre, on c or f, with neither knight in a corner.
The king starts on c1, the rooks on a1 and h1, the queen on e1.
The king already stands on c1, so castling long moves only the rook, from a1 to d1.
The bishops stand on d1 and g1; their long diagonals reach h5 and a7 once the e- and f-pawns step aside.
One second-rank pawn starts with no defender at all: g2.
The setup belongs to the BastionGuard family; read right to left it becomes position 520.
The engine's main line opens with e4, putting a pawn straight into the centre.
Morozov Balance Index: 47 of 100 — class C — noticeable edge. Engine evaluation of the starting position: +27 centipawns for White (depth 46, 400 000 000 nodes).
Explore position #541Provenance
Mined from the project's engine self-play games.
Pack 009 · SP-541
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